Dr. Martens Drops Ad Agency Over Dead Rockers Fiasco

If you're an ad agency, what's the fastest way to get a client to fire you? Try running an ad campaign that your client didn't approve. Dr. Martens just ditched its ad agency, Saatchi and Saatchi London, after the firm ran posters depicting dead rockers in heaven wearing Dr. Martens boots. The shoemaker apparently wanted nothing to do with the ads and said it never gave the ad agency permission to run them.

Saatchi and Saatchi said in a statement that their client did sign off on the campaign. The ad agency also said it thought its work was edgy, but not disrespectful. It said the rockers depicted in the ads, Kurt Cobain, Joe Strummer, Joey Ramone, and Sid Vicious, were famous for wearing Dr. Martens boots.

While both sides are calling each other liars, Saatchi and Saatchi will probably end up the losers in this case. The move may boost their image as an "edgy" firm, but how many companies want to work with an ad agency that garners a rep, true or not, for going over their client's head?