Kim Kardashian won't be in this the Skechers' Super Bowl ad this year. JB Lacroix/WireImageHere at omg! we have a near daily decision to make: to publish more Kardashian stories or not to publish more Kardashian stories. On the one hand, tons of people tend to click on their pics and read the latest scoop we post. On the other hand, many of those same readers claim to loathe the Kardashians. (Yes, we read your comments. Yes, we know you hate them. And yes, we're actually sick of the rich reality family, too, to be honest -- though we'd be more than willing to trade places with them for a day of shopping, manicures, and dining out at fancy eateries.)
So despite the fact that this story indeed has Kadashian in the headline, it's actually full of good news for those who swear you'll throw your TV out the window if you have to look at Kim K. one more time.
Without further ado: Kim Kardashian is being replaced by a dog. (Cue cheers from the crowd.)
Though shoemaker Skechers chose to use the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star in its Super Bowl ad last year -- featuring a sexy and sweaty Kim breaking up with her trainer in favor of Skechers' Shape-ups shoes -- this year the company will shine the spotlight on a less controversial character: an adorable French Bulldog named Mr. Quiggly (who becomes extra adorable thanks to the four tiny Skechers sneakers he's wearing).
Meet the new face of Skechers -- Mr. Quiggly.
Though Skechers' former celeb pitchwoman is currently a lightning rod for negative publicity -- thanks in part to the media frenzy surrounding her August wedding to NBA player Kris Humphries, followed 72 days later by the couple's divorce announcement -- the company insists that's not why it moved on from Kardashian, 31, whose contract actually ended at the end of 2011.
"Kim got us more attention than we ever dreamed," Leonard Armato, president of Skechers Fitness, told USA Today. "We have to establish Skechers as more than a lifestyle company."
Not everyone is thrilled. Animal rights groups are already calling for the ad, which also stars billionaire Mark Cuban, to be banned since it shows Mr. Quiggly racing a pack of greyhounds, though Armato insists in the USA Today piece that the spot doesn't glamorize dog racing and that the scenario is simply a metaphor for a "remarkable, underdog achievement."
The biggest underdog achievement of all will be if there isn't a single shot of Kim Kardashian during the Super Bowl broadcast. I'll believe it when I (don't) see it.
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