Jan
2004

Upfront

Eye of Relief

What becomes a Cy Young Award winner best? Why Oakley, of course.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Eric Gagne won the 2003 National League Cy Young award, which lauds the top pitcher in baseball’s American and National Leagues. He is the first closer in 11 years to receive the honor. Gagne, a native of Quebec, is known almost as much for his eyewear as he is for his fast ball, which has been clocked at up to 100 miles an hour. The reliever has been wearing Oakley prescription eyewear on the diamond since 2000.

One of Major League Baseball’s premiere closers, on the field his style of choice is the Oakley M Frame with a Strike lens. Off the mound he wears the Oakley Rx Why 3 and an array of other Oakley Rx styles.
 —Jackie Micucci

 

 

And a Side Order of… Readers

The latest addition to the menu at the well-know New York eatery Union Square Café is not the culinary creation of a famed chef but an optical offering by Morgenthal Frederics. Presbyopic patrons who are caught without their reading glasses can order up a pair of specs compliments of the house. However, like the menu, the glasses go back to the server after ordering.

When owner Danny Meyer noticed some diners squinting while reading the menu he came up with the idea of lending readers. He decided to team up with Morgenthal Frederics who created the handcrafted readers. Available in an assortment of shapes, such as oval, round and rectangle, and colors including red/cherry mica and blue/sapphire mica, the glasses are aptly named Lifesaver. —JM

Memorable Cruise

The new ad campaign for Ray-Ban is powerful in a double barreled way. Sloganed “Empower Your Vision,” photographer Richard Phibbs created a gallery of modern heroes with photos that deliver potent messages of unique characters celebrating the marvel of their everyday lifestyles. Key to this delivery was the choice of model/actor Ian Webb. Webb certainly has the ‘modern hero’ look—an everyday type guy with the capacity to reveal strength and dynamism. Quite simply, he’s the man everyone wants and everyone wants to be. And that leads to the crucial double barrel that ties right into a key part of the strong Ray-Ban heritage. The pictures feel like modern-day interpretations of both “Risky Business” AND “Top Gun.” Now that’s a (tom) cruise filled with all the right memories.  
—James J. Spina

 Coming Home
The newly crowned Miss America, Erika Dunlap recently returned home to Orlando, Fla. for a visit with her former employer, Sam Scardino, OD and his wife Maria Scardino, an optician, who are owners of Advanced Optical. Dunlap worked at the practice as an optometric assistant in 2000 while she was attending the University of Central Florida.

During her visit, the beauty queen had an eye exam and ordered new glasses. She selected the Raquel rimless model from Kenmark’s Thalia line; Optiks Unlimited wholesale lab in Orlando fabricated the drill-mounted eyewear.  —KC

Very Special Priority
The newly crowned Miss America, Erika Dunlap recently returned home to Orlando, Fla. for a visit with her former employer, Sam Scardino, OD and his wife Maria Scardino, an optician, who are owners of Advanced Optical. Dunlap worked at the practice as an optometric assistant in 2000 while she was attending the University of Central Florida.

During her visit, the beauty queen had an eye exam and ordered new glasses. She selected the Raquel rimless model from Kenmark’s Thalia line; Optiks Unlimited wholesale lab in Orlando fabricated the drill-mounted eyewear. 
 —KC

B.U.M.’s Rush — ROI Eyewear and Nationwide Vision Centers recently sponsored a sales contest with B.U.M. equipment brand eyewear as the featured specs. Legea Mavis, manager of the Union Hills Nationwide in Phoenix scored the top prize—a Phillips television set. Here she is surrounded by ROI’s Rhonda Chavez and Nationwide’s director of frame purchasing Laura O’Neill. —JJS

Funny lady. Comedian 1. Wanda Sykes wears DKNY Eyes style 7269S from Marchon. Sykes stars in her own sitcom on Fox “Wanda at Large,” lends her insight on HBO’s “Inside the NFL” and recently released her comedy special “Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied” on DVD… New to the pod. Hip-hop sensation The Black Eyed Peas newest band member 2. Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson in Fendi style FS280 in forest horn from Marchon. The band is currently touring Europe to promote their CD “Elephunk”… Expo-sure. The infamous Hilton sisters, 3. Paris and Nikki with Gary Martin, president of Revolution Eyewear at the company’s booth during Vision Expo West. The dynamic duo are both wearing the RES807 from Revolution… Killer instinct. “Kill Bill” star 4. Uma Thurman in Nike with Flexon style 4051 from Marchon… Don’t be cruel. Actress 5. Julia Duffy wore a couple of styles by Sàfilo in the movie “Intolerable Cruelty,” which starred Catherine Zeta Jones and George Clooney. In one scene, she lounges poolside in the Kate Spade Pauline/s and in another, wears Dior Clubbing/s… Music notes. At the American Music Awards a duet of singers in Revolution shades: 6. Sean Paul in the RES804 and “American Idol”  7. Clay Aitken in RES805 with a Sunset lens… Eye’ll be there for you. Rocker  8. Jon Bon Jovi wears the Galaxy from Oliver Peoples… Spies like us. 9. Natashia Williams, who plays Shane Phillips on the syndicated TV series “She Spies,” wears YSL 2010S from Sàfilo on a recent episode… Pay day. 10. Ben Affleck has an intense moment in the Dior homme Black Tie 2/s from Sàfilo in the new John Woo sci-fi flick “Paycheck”… On the set. Sàfilo made a visit to the set of “C.S.I.: Miami” to outfit cast members 11. Emily Procter and 12. Rory Cochrane in sunwear. Procter, who plays investigator Calleigh Duquesne, wears the Stella McCartney 3SL and Cochrane, who plays investigator Tim Speedle, in the Carrera Black Wolf. The actors later wore the sunglasses on an episode of the series… Indie boys. Two of the music world’s hottest front men are seen here in shades from Marchon. Linkin Park’s 13. Chester Bennington sports Fendi suns style 262 and Good Charlotte’s 14. Joel Madden wears Calvin Klein suns style 420… Do you believe? Diva and Academy Award winning actress 15. Cher appears in the latest Farrelly Brothers movie “Stuck on You,” starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinear as conjoined twins. Cher can be seen in the comedy wearing Gucci style GG1711S from Sàfilo… In the name of love. 16. Nick Cannon sports Dior Pop/s from Sàfilo in the romantic comedy “Love Don’t Cost a Thing”… Touchy. Paparazzi caught 17. Rob Lowe donning a pair of Carrera Black Wolfs from Sàfilo in a photo that ran on the pages of In Touch magazine.  
—JM
On the Sunny Side of the Runway

 Fashion and sunwear go hand-in-hand. That was quite apparent after the recent spring/summer runway shows in New York and Los Angeles. Nautica’s Spring ’04 collection showcased some great shades by Nautica Eyewear from Marchon while Silhouette’s SPX Modern Art line appeared in fashion shows in New York, Los Angeles and even London.

Opening with tropical swimwear, models donned Nautica’s sun style Miami, a lightweight stainless-steel aviator (top, far right) during the New York show. Sporty bikini tops and low slung boy shorts were paired with Nautica’s Bermuda sunwear (bottom, far right).
During New York’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Bryant Park, Silhouette graced the catwalks of Rosa Cha (top, right), James Coviello (bottom, right), Tokyo designer Harrison Wong and menswear’s Ron & Ron. In Los Angeles, Silhouette was matched up with the creations of Sanctuary, Imitation, Sue Wong (bottom, left) and famed L.A. designer Richard Tyler (top and middle, left). Silhouette also went international appearing on the London runway in designer Julian Macdonald’s show. 
—JM

Two Eggs… Sunny Side Up
Acknowledging the importance of consumer awareness concerning eye health issues through consumer outreach Transitions Optical, Inc. has upped the ante on its education efforts. Their energized consumer advertising campaign features a clear message about the importance of UV and glare protection with an intensified consumer media outreach initiative.

“Our research shows increasing brand awareness from our advertising this year, with eyecare professionals reporting an increasing dialogue about the topics of UV and glare protection,” says Transitions marketing director Frank Reilly.

Following the success of the 2003 consumer television advertising, the company added a special, three-week-long wave on Thanks-giving Day with an ad running during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The futuristic ads also appeared during the Harry Connick Jr. special and “Thanks-giving Unstuffed” on HGTV, as well as on several cable networks including A&E and Bravo. The ads ran hundreds of times over a three week period, reaching an estimated 109 million people. The message covered the need for UV and glare protection, and reminded consumers to visit an eyecare professional.

“Many patients neglect the opportunity to take advantage of eye health benefits and flex spending accounts, so Thanksgiving was an ideal time to encourage people to visit eyecare professionals, helping drive traffic to practices during this period,” says Reilly.

Transitions Optical will maintain a high-reach consumer campaign in 2004, including both print and television advertising. Additionally, Transitions will be visible through sponsorships of several health-related cable programs, including CNBC’s Health Theme Day, The Weather Channel’s UV protection index and several vignettes on Discovery Health. Print advertisements will continue to run in general interest and well as health-related publications in the first half of 2004, with more to follow in parenting and family oriented publications coinciding with the back-to-school time period in the second half of 2004.

According to recent research from Transitions Optical, nearly one-third of people (30 percent) who take steps to protect their skin from the sun learned of the importance of doing so from the media—articles in newspapers, magazines, online or stories on television. Conversely, only 15 percent of people who take steps to protect their eyes from the sun learned of the need to do so from the same source.

Transitions is also re-launching its popular “fried eggs” poster, which has been updated to focus on the need to provide UV protection. Part of Transitions’ ongoing commitment to furthering eye health education, the poster was re-launched during a Transitions-sponsored breakfast during the American Academy of Ophthalmology conference. Get a copy of this classic poster by calling (800) 848-1506.  —JJS

It’s Great to Educate Poster Boaster

 The National Federation of Opticianry Schools (NFOS) has partnered with Jobson Publishing’s Opticianry Study Center to bring enhanced American Board of Opticianry approved credit education to the pages of 20/20 and on www.2020mag.com throughout 2004.

As part of the exclusive agreement, NFOS program directors and instructors from across the U.S. will be writing CE for 20/20 and offering their unique academic input to the Study Center.

A Study Center poster contest, open to all NFOS students as directed by their instructors, will award prizes to the first, second and third place posters. The contest is the first time that opticianry school students will be recognized for their educational poster efforts in the national optical trade press and will give students the opportunity for extra recognition at their individual schools and colleges. The winning posters will be displayed at the Jobson booth at International Vision Expo East 2004 and will be published in 20/20. The first place winner will receive airfare and three night’s accommodations to International Vision Expo East 2004
A Study Center writing contest, open to all NFOS students as directed by their instructors, will award and feature timely optical topic articles by the students in 20/20 during the second half of the year
.
So as part of your New Year’s resolution to become a more savvy optician by taking intriguing, top-notch CE, look for the Opticianry Study Center ABO approved logo and the NFOS logo in our pages and online to take part in this landmark education event in 2004.

For more information and to view the posters and writing contests as they are printed, visit www.2020mag.com. 
—KC

Eye’ve Got A Black Magic Woman — Following its recent debut at Vision West Santana Eyes is looking to build the brand via some distinct e-marketing with design elements rooted directly to the personality and music of Carlos Santana with www.santanaeyes.com. Check it out noting that each frame in this new collection has been named after a famous song or album title. Santana Eyes president David Gutierrez says, “We developed this web site to bring brand and product awareness to all sales channels in the optical industry. We’re already getting great positive feedback.” 20/20 looks forward to chatting with Carlos once he wraps up his current European tour.
Transitions Names Third Grand Prize Winners — Transitions Optical has announced the third grand prize winners in the Transitions Optical Present & Earn Every Day promotion. Katie Sweeten, optometric assistant, Grove Eye Center, Grove, Okla.; her Transitions Optical Platinum Elite STAR Lab representative, Chip Lindsey, lens consultant, RX Optical, Broken Arrow, Okla., and their patient Mike Bridges, Grove, Okla. each won a $2,000 American Express “Your Choice” cash card. Eyecare professionals still have more chances to win with biweekly drawings leading up to the fourth and final grand prize drawing in January 2004.

Pictured left to right are Jennifer Knox, lens consultant, Transitions; Katie Sweeten, Buddy Yandell, OD, Grove Eye Center, Mike Bridges and Chip Lindsey.

Beginning January 28, Transitions Optical Solutions Team members, manufacturer partners and Transitions Platinum Elite STAR Labs will begin to offer training to eyecare professionals interested in participating in the all-new Transitions Healthy Change Sweepstakes. This new, larger-scale promotion will continue to focus on eye health education while promoting everyday vision protection as part of overall health and wellness.

The promotion will be supported for the first time by national print and television advertising.
National Vision Names AO•SOLA Lens Vendor of the Year — Optical retailer National Vision recently named AO•SOLA as its lens vendor of the year. The primary reasons cited for the award were AO•SOLA’s service and high fill rates.
Pictured at the awards ceremony in Atlanta are, from left, Bill Kopenen, director of lens buying, National Vision; Doug Crickey, national accounts manager, AO•SOLA; Jim Bunnelle, vice president of national accounts, AO•SOLA; Reade Fahs, president and CEO, National Vision.
Pentax Named Exclusive Distributor of Gia Polycarb Lenses — Pentax Vision recently reached an agreement with Cobra Vision to become the exclusive distributor of Gia polycarbonate lenses. The company is now accepting orders for the entire Gia product line. For additional information, contact Pentax Vision's customer service department at (800) 401-9101.
U.S. Army SSG Erica Stokes, head of the optical lab, curing OptiCast lenses in Camp Doha, Kuwait.
U.S. Army Labs Choose OptiCast — The U.S. Army has begun purchasing OptiCast lenscasting systems from OptiCast, Inc. According to the Findlay, Ohio-based company, its systems reduce the load of the Army's mobile optical labs by nearly 17,000 pounds. With OptiCast, the Army is able to produce progressive, bifocal and aspheric single-vision lenses in the field in such places as Iraq and Kuwait.

In a separate development, Ohio Governor Bob Taft recently presented Opticast with an $859,691 award to commercialize cheaper eyeglasses and create 50 new jobs within five years. The award will be used to add new, commercially attractive features to Opticast's existing system such as scratch resistance, AR coatings and greater durability. In addition, the company is working on lenses for the military and laboratory applications that contain dyes for blocking laser light. The project is in collaboration with Spectra Group Limited of Toledo, Ohio and the Photoinstrumentation and Photopolymerization Laboratory at Bowling Green State University.
Interstate Optical Hosts Russian Colleagues — Interstate Optical recently hosted a group of visiting Russians who are owners, directors and operators of private optometry offices. The group traveled to the U.S. to learn how optometry and ophthalmology practices are managed here.
Ted Mabry, Interstate’s vice president of production, led the visitors on a tour of the Mansfield, Ohio lab. The visit was arranged through the Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP), whose purpose is to provide Russian citizens with practical training in business management and free-market principles to encourage a stable economy and civil society in Russia.
V-E Relocates Sales and Marketing — Vision-Ease Lens’ sales and marketing department recently moved to new headquarters at 8200 Normandale Boulevard, Suite 323, Bloomington, Minn., 55437. V-E’s general phone number remains (952) 851-6000.

 

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