'Skechers has enjoyed and continues to enjoy the relationship with Kim, and in fact we continue to discuss ways that we may work together in the future,' the company's CEO Robert Greenberg says.
- Jan 11, 2012
AceShowbiz - Words has run wild that Kim Kardashian has been dropped by Skechers and will be replaced by a dog in its 2012 Super Bowl ad, but the shoe company was quick to set the record straight. In a statement released on Tuesday, January 10, CEO Robert Greenberg insisted that some of the words used in the news were misleading.
"Kim Kardashian has had a tremendously positive effect on the Skechers brand," Greenberg first pointed out. "Not only did Kim's Skechers Super Bowl ad generate over 1.6 billion positive media impressions for Skechers, but she played a big part in Skechers moving up last year from 388 to 99 among companies with the highest brand trust."
"While Kim's contract with Skechers simply came to an end at the end of last year, we continue to have a great relationship with her as we do with all the other talent who have worked with the brand over the years. To say that she was 'dropped' or 'replaced' is misleading and untrue," he stressed. "Skechers has enjoyed and continues to enjoy the relationship with Kim, and in fact we continue to discuss ways that we may work together in the future."
Words that Kim has been dropped and replaced by a dog was brought to attention by USA Today. In the report, it is said that the new commercial will feature a French bulldog wearing the company's new high-tech GOrun sneakers and racing a pack of greyhounds, and will have Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban making an appearance.
The move to use the dog in the Super Bowl ad came around two months after Kardashian filed for a divorce from husband of 72 days, Kris Humphries, but Skechers executives insisted that it has nothing to do with the snub. President of Skechers Fitness, Leonard Armato, said, "Kim got us more attention than we ever dreamed. We have to establish Skechers as more than a lifestyle company."
Kim steamed up the small screen in 2011 by appearing in a sexy commercial for Skechers Shape-ups footwear, which was aired during the fourth quarter of the big game between the Steelers and the Packers. In it, the 31-year-old reality star flaunts her figure in revealing workout outfit and wrestles with her half-naked trainer.
