New daytime talk show host queen Ellen DeGeneres recently scooted out for a worthy cause thanks to Coach and Marchon. A custom-designed Coach Vespa that was featured on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” was auctioned off on eBay to raise money for “Peace Games,” a non-profit organization that encourages kids to be peacemakers through skill-building and problem-solving games.

To celebrate the launch of Coach Sunwear, Marchon Eyewear worked with Coach designer Reed Krakoff to create a collection of seven unique Vespas with matching helmets and driving accessories including the “Poppy Floral”—later dubbed the “Poppy for Peace” Vespa—that DeGeneres rode on stage during her show. (The audience at the taping all received a pair of Coach sunglasses.)

The scooter was signed by special guests including Britney Spears, Ashton Kutcher, Sting and Drew Barrymore before being auctioned off as a package that included a limited-edition Poppy Hobo, Coach Taylor sunglasses and two tickets to be part of the Ellen DeGeneres studio audience. The auction winner was Sutter Home Family Winery with a bid of $25,100.

But this won’t be the last stop for the Vespa, according to Terry Wheatley, senior VP of marketing for Sutter Home. The company is planning to place the scooter back on the eBay auction block in October with proceeds going to Peace Games and Sutter Home for Hope, the winery’s breast cancer awareness campaign. 
 —Jackie Micucci
Ray-Ban gets empowered
Ray-Ban’s got the power. The Luxottica brand is expanding its “Empower Your Vision” point-of-purchase campaign to include consumer advertising. The ads mark the first consumer advertising push from Ray-Ban since 2000.
Launched late last month, the campaign underscores Ray-Ban as an icon and leader. The ads will run in weekly publications such as Entertainment Weekly and People as well as monthlies including GQ, In Style, Lucky, Marie Claire and Rolling Stone. The campaign will also be featured on billboards, bus shelters and other outdoor media outlets in several major cities in the U.S. during the key sun season.  —Caletha Crawford
Shore helps
Sàfilo is teaming up again with designers and celebrities to help raise money for multiple sclerosis (MS). The seventh annual “QVC’s Cure By The Shore” will broadcast live from Malibu, Calif. on Saturday May 22, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (EST) when the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) unites with e-commerce leader, QVC, to raise funds for MS research and education. For the third consecutive year, Sàfilo Group will serve as the event’s Special Benefactor.

With Don Diamont of the soap opera “The Young and the Restless” serving as the celebrity host, the multi-hour televised fundraiser features a wide array of sunglasses, accessories, jewelry and beauty items at half the suggested retail value from a roster of leading international designers, brands and manufacturers. All net proceeds from the sale will support the fight against MS.

Sàfilo is donating sunglasses from Dior, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Kate Spade, MaxMara, Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent. In addition, Angel Donor Tommy Hilfiger has created a commemorative graffiti T-shirt especially for “QVC’s Cure By The Shore.”

This year’s Gold Donors include Charmant Group Inc., USA: BOSS Hugo Boss, Michael Kors and Esprit Eyewear, Chico’s, Esposito and Jonathan Cate Eyewear. Other brands who have donated include Aaron Basha, Ear Threads Earring Design Studio, Essie Cosmetics, Hello Kitty by Fantas-Eyes, Inc., Kenneth Cole Productions, Legale Legwear, Maui Jim Sunglasses, Nike, Primal Elements, RLM Studio, Smashbox Cosmetics, Solstice sunglass boutiques and Z. Bigatti Cosmetics.

Items will be available during the broadcast through QVC by calling (800) 345-1515 or visiting www.QVC.com. —JM
J’adore Dior. The Christian Dior name is hot, which is why many stars have been seen sporting Dior sun styles from Sàfilo. Nick Lachey’s other half 1. Jessica Simpson (of MTV’s “Newlyweds”) wears the Dior Mini Motard on MTV’s Spring Bling in Cancun; actress 2. Sofia Milos, who plays Detective Yelina Salas on “CSI: Miami,” wears the Miss Diorella/NS in brown; and 3. Mathew Davis wears Dior homme 0007/s in the new movie “The Mainline”… Spirited away. Ray-Ban from Luxottica outfitted celebs at the recent IFP Independent Spirit Awards held in Santa Monica, Calf. Sporting shades are actor 4. Blair Underwood in RB style 4041 642/83, “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” fashion savant 5. Carson Kressley in RB 3197 and actress 6. Rosario Dawson in RB 2127 941… Big leaguer. Chicago Cubs slugger 7. Sammy Sosa wears Nike with Flexon optical style 4055 from Marchon. The right fielder became a member of MLB’s 500 homer club last season… Idol worship. “American Idol” judge 8. Paula Abdul shows she’s still got it going on in a pair of Gucci shades, style 17B0S, with Swarovski crystal-encrusted temples from Sàfilo… My girl Drew. Actress 9. Drew Barrymore looks city chic in the Coach Metro from Marchon… Peoples of the world. Wearing hip shades from Oliver Peoples are some hip actresses: Oscar winner 10. Renée Zellweger in the La Donna, 11. Kate Hudson in the Athena and 12. Uma Thurman in the Vibe… The 411. R&B star 13. Mary J. Blige sported the Stella McCartney 11S rimless sunglass from Sàfilo on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”… That ’70s show. 14. Ben Stiller sports Ray-Bans from Luxottica in his latest movie “Starsky & Hutch” based on the ’70s detective TV series. In this scene the actor wears RB 3026 L2823… Grid iron great. 15. Terrel Owens of the Baltimore Ravens sports Nike with Flexon style Vaughn Flash from Marchon… Smooth criminal. 16. John C. Reilly wears his own personal pair of Carrera Caspian from Sàfilo in the new movie “Criminal.” The film is based on the Argentine hit “Nine Queens.” —JM

lens marketing
Edited by Andrew Karp

Within Reach — The Spectacle Lens Group of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care is reaching out to consumers and eyecare professionals with an education-based marketing campaign stressing the importance of lens choice and the benefits of Definity Progressive Lenses.

J&J will continue to showcase Definity Lenses on television, in print and in outdoor billboard advertisements for 2004. The “See Wider. See Sharper” campaign highlights the shortcomings of traditional progressive lenses and bifocals through a 30-second television commercial, a print advertising campaign, parking garage entry-gate ads and outdoor billboards. The campaign targets Baby Boomers to take control of their eye health by seeking an eyecare professional’s valued guidance by visiting www.definity.com. Site visitors can learn about presbyopia and search the “ECP Product Locator” to find participating eyecare professionals. Another marketing tactic making a comeback for 2004 is the “newspaper drop.” This direct-to-consumer tactic features branded newspaper wraps highlighting common everyday frustrations among presbyopes, such as reading a newspaper and viewing objects close up.

To align Definity Lenses with an industry focused on education J&J will produce several “Eye-Health” vignettes about presbyopia and the new technology available to treat it. During the launch campaign, a series of 60-second health vignettes that aired on select news stations featured local eyecare professionals speaking about the latest advances in eyecare.

Optically Stimulating — Building upon its commitment to grow the market and provide education and training programs to ECPs, Essilor Laboratories of America is introducing a new series of in-office educational training. The courses are free of charge to interested ECPs and their staff members. ELOA consultants teach the two-hour or half-day courses on site at a convenient time for the ECP. 
The StimulEye Education Series features:

• Bases of AR — learn to capitalize on the opportunities within the anti-reflective lens category.
• Sightseekers — understand new ways to fine-tune progressive growth strategy.
• Survival Tales — discuss ways to thrive in today’s tough competitive climate.
• Profit Analyzer — determine if current product mix and retail pricing are in line with the practice goals for greater profitability.

Winners’ Circle — Transitions Optical has named the winners from its fourth and final grand prize drawing of the Transitions Optical “Present & Earn Every Day” program. Winners include consumer Margie Rickard from Madisonville, Ky.; Emily Brown Taylor, OD, of Brown & Taylor Optometrics in Madisonville, Ky.; and Transitions Platinum Elite STAR Lab trainer Rita Jones from Essilor Laboratories of America in Dallas.


(Pictured above) Transitions Platinum Elite STAR Lab trainer Rita Jones from Essilor Laboratories of America presents a $2,000 grand prize check to Emily Brown Taylor, OD, owner of Brown & Taylor Optometrics, as part of the Transitions Optical “Present & Earn Every Day” program. Joining Jones and Dr. Taylor are Shannon Davis and Carol Baldwin, eyecare professionals from Brown & Taylor Optometrics.

Hummer of a Summer — Vision-Ease Lens, Inc. plans to embark on an extensive SunRx summer tour promoting SunRx lenses by acquiring the SUV king—a Hummer. The SunRx Hummer will tour Wal-Mart Vision Centers and Sam’s

Club Opticals educating opticians and consumers on the benefits of polarized lenses. Updates will be posted to www.sunrxtour.com.

The SunRx Summer Hummer Tour is another step in Vision-Ease’s effort to support eyecare professionals in growing their polarized business and increasing second-pair sales.

Excellent Strategy — Excelite Inc. has joined the Optical Village in Columbus, Ohio, beginning sales of stock range finished and semi-finished lens made from the new organic breakthrough material, Trivex from PPG. The company keeps a stock of Excelite TVX lenses as well as hard-resin polarized lens Excelite Polarview, at a warehouse in the Optical Village, guaranteeing no back order situation as well as up-to-date logistics and customer support systems.
Until now, all Trivex material lenses have been supplied to Rx laboratories in semi-finished form only (surfacing and coating had to be done in the labs). But the Excelite TVX series includes strict quality-controlled finished single vision, as well as semi-finished single-vision and progressive lenses.

Excelite is also launching an organic polarized lens, Excelite Polarview. Contrary to the conventional hard resin polarized lens with a three layer “sandwich” structure, this lens incorporates modern techniques, in which five layers are fused together to create a flawless adhesion. It surpasses FDA high-impact resistant test requirements. Semi-finished single-vision spheric lenses in base three and five are now available, and base eight will be added soon.

Safety first
Clarkson Eyecare is playing it safe. As part of National Sports Eye Safety month in April, the 18-store St. Louis-based retailer hosted teams from the Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club at the April 18th St. Louis Cardinals game at Busch Stadium. The Herbert Hoover teams were chosen as an extension of the relationship Clarkson already has with the club, providing free eyecare to its members. Clarkson’s Sports Eye Safety Day was part of its ongoing efforts to educate young athletes and their parents about the need for protective eyewear.  —JM
CD Now
Oliver Peoples recently launched “CD 3,” an über hip CD compilation. This marks the third in a series of collaborations between Oliver Peoples and Los Angeles-based club promotions and DJ collective bossa:nova (bossanovaclub.com). The CD is a collection of 13 choice tracks from around the world, including music from Jazzanova, Charles Webster, Photek and Projections.

“We’ve always felt our hand-selected, eclectic mix of music that we play in our retail stores has been an integral part of the Oliver Peoples experience,” says Rudy Manheim, executive producer of all three projects and manager of the L.A. Oliver Peoples boutique. “All of our compilations have been just that—a true reflection of the Oliver Peoples vibe and experience.”

OP 3 is a very limited production and can only be purchased through Oliver Peoples retail stores in Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo www.oliverpeoples.com as well as a few select music/lifestyle stores.
Adds Manheim, “It’s all about turning people on to music and style.”  —JM
show watch: 20/20@30
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of 20/20, Jobson Publishing, Marchon Eyewear and Essilor hosted a party at Pressure Lounge/ Bowlmor Lanes in New York’s Union Square during Vision Expo East. Partygoers enjoyed an evening of dancing, glow-in-the-dark bowling and pool playing as images from 20/20’s special anniversary Icons issue—dubbed a Celebration of Eyewear—were flashed on the walls of the club.
1. All in the family… Essilor’s Mary Lou Maguire with Luxottica’s Jean Scott, her brother, Essilor’s Bruce Scott and his wife, Sarah.
2. OSA has entered the building… Optical Shop of Aspen’s Larry Sands with wife, Christina and OSA’s Troy Schmidt and wife, Elisa.
3. King pin… Joshua Cline of Randolph Eye Associates in Randolph, Mass. goes for a strike.
4. Big shoes to fill… Essilor’s John Carrier marvels at a pair of size 17 bowling shoes.
5. FRAMES Data’s Christie Walker and Michael Copping arrive with VisionWeb’s Jeff Saddington and Mike O’Malley.
1. All dressed up… Essilor’s Mike Daley and wife, Cathy enjoy the festivities.
2. Party people… Block Vision’s Michael Block and wife, Saree.
3. Those aren’t pool sharks… Tom Breen of Williams Consulting engages in a little friendly competition with Perry Lopez, OD, of Indianapolis.
4. Smiles everyone… Partaking in the soiree are Essilor’s Janice Molloy, Joe Colucci of Gilbert Displays, Tony Butch, OD, Pam Colucci and Essilor’s Bob Colucci.
5. good times… Helping celebrate 20/20’s anniversary are Jack Schaeffer, OD, of Schaeffer Eye Associates in Birmingham, Ala., Marchon’s Larry Roth and Al Berg and Jobson’s Bob A. and Nancy Amato.