I spent my teenage years in Doc Martens, mimicking idols like Joe Strummer. But now I would like to retrieve one of those wee boots and kick the ad exec responsible for this tasteless campaign. Dead rock stars—Kurt Cobain, Joey Ramone, Sid Vicious and yes, Strummer–in heaven a’la George Burns or Patrick Swayze–wearing gowns and Docs!! Seriously. And I was just getting over the fright of seeing Elvis Costello in a Lexxus commercial.
This article appears in May 24-30, 2007.