Kim Kardashian’s Super Bowl ad for Skechers’ Shape-Up shoe in 2011 will not be a repeat in the Super Bowl of 2012. Instead, Skechers has decided to feature a spot with a French bulldog.
Skechers Fitness president Leonard Armato reported to USA Today, “Kim got us more attention than we ever dreamed. We have to establish Skechers as more than a lifestyle company." A Skechers representative claims the negative publicity from her brief marriage had nothing to do with not bringing her back for an ad.
The 2012 Super Bowl ad will feature Skechers’ spokes-dog wearing the company’s new high-tech GOryn shoes with a pack of greyhound dogs. Owner of the basketball team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, will also appear in the ad. Some animal advocate groups are crying “foul” with the ad, stating that the greyhounds are not a good idea.
"Skechers using Tucson Greyhound Park as the backdrop for an ad is akin to Hertz calling back O.J. Simpson as a spokesperson," stated Christine Dorchak, president of Grey2K.
The American Humane Society reports no animals were harmed in the making of the spot and that Grey2K’s complaints are unrelated to the ad’s purpose. The ad does not encourage nor glamorize dog racing according to Armato.
Cuban appears in the ad briefly but he realizes, according to company representatives, that he is not Kim Kardashian. In one statement, Cuban shared, “I'm not Kim Kardashian. But one of the things I do know is high technology and how to use it.”
For more about Skechers visit www.skechers.com.
Edie Jarolim
#1
January 16th, 2012 1:02 pm
No animals were harmed in creating the commercial but a lot of greyhounds are harmed by greyhound racing -- and filming at the track, which is a horror show (I should know, since I live in Tucson) implicitly glamorizes the sport. I'm appalled that the American Humane Society would stand up for Sketchers rather than for Grey2K.