kim kardashianI'll admit, I was amused to hear that Skechers replaced Kim Kardashian with a French Bulldog in their Super Bowl ad. It had a nice ring to it, didn't it? Kim replaced by a dog? The only problem is that it's not exactly the truth. Yes, there will be a dog in the Skechers' ad come this February 5, but it's not Kim's replacement. Ms. Kardashian isn't in the ad because her contract expired, not because she was fired when her image allegedly took a nose dive after her divorce from Kris Humphries.

It's a less exciting reason why Kim and Skechers aren't working together anymore; it's way more banal than what all those salacious headlines promised, but their separation proves one, very important point.

Kim Kardashian can sell some shoes. Skechers claims that using her in their ads increased their brands trustworthiness by leaps and bounds. They say she had an "extremely positive effect" on the brand and take issue with the rumors that she was either replaced or dropped for a dog. It's just not true, they say.

I suppose this means that Kim's influence in the fashion world is stronger than we all might have thought. She's got her own lines of, like, everything (nail polish, clothes, books, diet potions, etc. etc.) but who knew her image could catapult Skechers onto the next level.

Her divorce and its resultant negative press won't hurt her when it comes to endorsements or hawking goods; in fact, it might even help her. There's no one perhaps more recognizable in the world right now than Kim and it seems that her fan base is growing, not diminishing.

Even though we may not see Kim on Super Bowl weekend, I'm sure we'll see her everywhere else.

Do you think Kim's fashion influence is here to stay?

 

Photo via david_shankbone/Flickr