Dead rock stars do love their Doc Martens

UPDATE: Looks like this campaign has gotten the agency fired.

So, Doc Martens wants us to live forever, eh? They sure want us to think their boots do, which is probably why these ads from Saatchi London use dead punk and alt-rock musicians exclusively. The choices seem a little random. Sid Vicious, Kurt Cobain, Joe Strummer and Joey Ramone were picked more for credibility and accessibility than anything else; Joey wore Converse sneakers through most of his Ramones tenure, and Sid couldn’t find his feet with both hands and a map, let alone sustain any footwear brand loyalties. Docs are really more popular with skinheads than punks anyway (especially in England), but the word skinhead is something of a red flag, occasionally for good reason, so it’s understandable that they didn’t go that route. That said, I have a pair of Docs, and the heels wore through after a year and a half, so clearly their fountain of youth is impure.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

May 21, 2007 in Kiefaber | Permalink