Skechers Dumps Kim Kardashian for a Dog

Kim Kardashian will not appear in this year's Skechers commercial because they chose a French Bulldog to replace her.

Kim Kardashian isn't being thrown a bone from Skechers on Super Bowl Sunday — but a dog is.

Kardashian, the reality TV mega-star who was featured in the sneaker maker's racy Super Bowl commercial last year, has been dropped and will be replaced by a French bulldog in this year's ads.

The move comes about two months after Kardashian filed for a divorce from basketball star Kris Humphries. But Skechersexecutives insist that negative PR cycle following the divorce filing has nothing to do with their decision. Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, also has a cameo in the new spot.

"Kim got us more attention than we ever dreamed," says Leonard Armato, president of Skechers Fitness, who notes that Skechers is launching a high-tech running shoe business. "We have to establish Skechers as more than a lifestyle company."

In the new spot, the tiny dog — bedecked in Skechers new GOrun shoes — races a pack of greyhounds.

While Skechers' contract with Kardashian expired at the end of 2011, her effect on the brand has been huge, Armato says.Two months before the 2011 Super Bowl, Skechers' Facebook page had 100,000 fans, but it now has 400,000 — much of which he attributes to Kardashian.

Jacked from USA Today