Bausch & Lomb wants consumers to set their sight on the PureVision contact lens. The company recently launched a national multi-media consumer advertising campaign as well as a contest for the CL. The 30-second ad is airing on network and cable TV stations across the U.S. for the soft contact lens, which is designed to correct nearsightedness and farsightedness and also reduce spherical aberration, a higher order aberration of the eye that is one of the factors that can affect visual quality in low-light conditions. Participants can enter the online sweepstakes by voting for “America’s Greatest Sight” and then register for a chance to win a grand prize trip to either New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco or Las Vegas, the areas selected in a survey in which respondents named vision as their most valued sense and listed what they thought were “America’s Greatest Sights.” The top sights selected were the Statue of Liberty and Times Square in New York, the Las Vegas Strip, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and the White House in Washington, D.C. More information is available at www.purevision.com.—JM

Get on the Bus

Arnette was the ultimate bus stop this summer. The Luxottica brand launched the first-ever Arnette So Cal Summer Tour Bus powered by Maverick Records at the 2005 Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill in Huntington Beach, Calif. Arnette played host to a couple of parties at the famous Viper Room in Hollywood before the mega-bus began its travels around Southern California for six weeks including stops at the X-Games. The bus gave fans the opportunity to meet professional action sports athletes and recording artists. In addition, Maverick Records music samples and Arnette gear including eyewear, t-shirts, posters and stickers were given away daily as prizes. No transfer was required… —Jackie Micucci

The Big, GOOD Wolf

At all costs and in every way support the U.S. troops serving overseas. On that patriotic note Kenmark has been doing its part by donating its Wolverine Polarized Sunwear. In 2004, Kenmark donated 25 pairs of sunwear to troops serving in Fallujah. The request came from Cheryl Orr, a Kenmark sales representative, who has a personal connection to one of the soldiers serving overseas. Again in 2005, Kenmark was asked to help with another donation of Wolverine Polarized Sunwear to troops serving in Iraq. Along with help from Cheryl Orr and customer Judy Campbell, 50 pairs were sent to the 1st U.S. Marine Expeditionary Force, 1st Battalion and 3rd Marine Regiment, Bravo Company serving in Iraq. With extreme temperatures and heat, the soldiers often request better sun protection in the desert conditions. Kenmark was more than happy to honor these requests by sending its Wolverine Polarized Sunwear in a variety of sizes and colors. Each frame came with a custom Wolverine Sunwear case. Mission accomplished and certainly most appreciated. —James J. Spina

Lemmy from the band Motorhead signs autographs at the Arnette booth during the recent U.S. Open of Surfing, the first stop on the Arnette So Cal Summer Tour Bus.

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Yeah — Usher (1) appeared in high eye style at the recent MTV Video Awards in Miami. The pop star is wearing Cartier’s C décor custom rimless eyewear with blue lenses and a yellow gold frame… What’s in a name? — Sean “Diddy” Combs (2) sported Robert Marc aviator style 719 in commercials for the MTV Video Music Awards. The artist formerly know as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy also wore the frames in billboard ads. Additionally, the style is a fave of Academy Award nominated actress Julianne Moore (3) … Honky cat — Rock legend Elton John (4) in l.a. Eyeworks WALES, which he wore in a sunglass during the Live 8 concert… Sort of — Actor Mark Strong (5) wears the Kirk Originals Charles 1/101 in Guy Richie’s new film “Revolver.” Strong, a Kirk Originals loyal wearer both on and off the screen, plays “The Sorter,” a nerdy assassin, in the movie, which is set to be released early next year. “Revolver” stars Ray Liotta, Jason Statham, Vincent Pastore and Andre 3000 of Outcast… What you need — Tim Farriss (6) and Jon Farriss from the band INXS at the Los Angeles premiere of “The Dukes of Hazzard” wearing Chrome Hearts Eyewear from Optical Shop of Aspen. Tim wears the Classic Oval while Jon sports the Red Riot… Cruise line — Tom Cruise (7) wears the Sly in gray from Sama Eyewear. Sama is the official eyewear for Cruise’s upcoming movie “Mission Impossible 3,” which is set to be released next spring… In her glasses — Toni Collette (8) wears Robert Marc style 132 in her new movie “In Her Shoes,” which opens this month… My life — Comic Kathy Griffin (9), who stars in the reality show “My Life on the D-List,” wears the RES807 from Revolution Eyewear… Model eyewear — Elle Macpherson (10) was spotted backstage at the Live 8 concert in London wearing the Fix III in black from the Chrome Hearts Eyewear Collection by Optical Shop of Aspen… Set it off — Susan Sarandon (11) was spotted on the set of her new film “Mr. Woodcock” wearing the JMC 528 from the Jessica McClintock Sunglass Collection from ClearVision. The comedy, which is still in production, also stars Billy Bob Thornton in the title role. —JM

6 7 8 Lens Marketing

PPG Offers Trivex Edging Tips on Video — PPG Industries, in conjunction with eight leading equipment manufacturers, has produced an education CD to serve as a guide on optimal edging techniques for lenses made from Trivex.

“The Trivex Material Edge” provides information and video demonstrations on how to maximize edging results from A.I.T. Industries/Indo, Briot, Gerber Coburn/ Essilor, Lab-Tech, Satisloh, National Optronics, Santinelli International/Nidek and Topcon America/ODI. The CD will be the first in a series of educational tools PPG is planning to roll out, which will serve as an “A-to-Z” guide for achieving the best possible results with Trivex, according to Christine Camsuzou, PPG general manager of optical materials. To obtain a copy of “The Trivex Material Edge” CD, contact Robin Snyder, marketing manager, optical material and coatings, PPG Industries at (724) 325-5168, or [email protected].

Younger’s NuPolar Aces the Test — Younger Optics has published a brochure containing information comparing NuPolar Hard Resin Polarized Lens to other leading prescription Rx hard resin polarized lenses. The new “Quality Testing & Comparisons” brochure explains the technical aspects of a quality polarized lens and attempts to show how NuPolar hard resin polarized products consistently outperform other products in the marketplace. Many of the tests described in the brochure have never been published before, and readers can learn what makes a good versus a poor polarized lens. To order a copy of the brochure, call (800) 366-5367.

Robertson Scores ‘Base Hit’ With Customers — Customers of Atlanta-based wholesale lab Robertson Optical enjoyed the Atlanta Braves ballgame August 13 as part of the annual Braves promotion sponsored by Robertson, Carl Zeiss Vision and Transitions. The promotion awarded game tickets and other prizes to Robertson customers, including optometrists, ophthalmologists and opticians, for purchasing SOLAOne Clear, SOLAOne Transitions, SV Transitions, Flat-Top Transitions and Teflon coated lenses. Robertson Optical Laboratories customer Heather Lybrand, a licensed optician with Pelham Vision Center in Greer, S.C. (pictured above at left) is seen at the game with Chip Robertson, vice president of Robertson Optical’s Greenville, S.C. location.

Demi Moore is the ‘star’ of the Versace Group’s advertising campaign for Autumn/Winter 2005. The portfolio of images was photographed by renowned fashion and portrait photographer Mario Testino in London back in April.Demi Moore, like Madonna who was featured in the Spring/Summer 2005 campaign, is a long-standing Versace wearer. Here she sports sunglass model 4063B.“I have known Demi Moore for many years and never has she been as beautiful as she is now,” says designer Donatella Versace. “Her presence is magnetic because it is entirely natural and never forced. Her personality comes shining through.” —JM

What could be better than a day at the ballpark? Hot dogs, peanuts, Cracker Jacks… and of course, the actual game itself. That’s why Express Lens Lab in Fountain Valley, Calif. hosted its second annual Customer and Staff Appreciation Day recently with more than 300 key accounts, employees and vendors enjoying a baseball game at Anaheim Stadium between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.The day began with a tailgate party at Express Lens Lab featuring food and games as well as lab tours. Vendors were also invited to set up booths in the company’s parking lot, giving its accounts from all over California the opportunity to meet with leading lens manufacturers, AR facilities and frame manufacturers.In addition, Express gave all attendees “goodie bags” that included, customized baseball caps and T-shirts, food vouchers and product information. After the tailgate, luxury bus transportation shuttled attendees to the ballpark.Platinum sponsors of the event were Express Lens Lab and Sola Optical. Signet Armorlite was a Gold Sponsor. Silver Sponsors were Shamir, Younger Optics, Kenmark Optical, Cadillac Fashion Eyewear, I Coat Co. and Vision Ease. —JM

French mountain bike cyclist Julien Absalon, 2004 winner of the Olympic gold in Athens, has scored a huge repeat victory in the Livigno World Championships. The Bianchi-Agos captain now sports the cross country world champion’s jersey as a perfect complement to his Carrera sunglasses for the second consecutive year. “I’m glad of giving this win to the Bianchi-Agos team,” says Absalon. “At the beginning, I kept under control my opponents who were very strong. Then, in the second lap, I attacked as much as I could to stay in the front.” It wasn’t an easy race for the French biker who had a puncture on the last lap. “I noticed my wheel looks a bit flat at the first filling-up point, but I didn’t realize I had had a puncture. When I started the big climb, the wheel was almost completely flat.” After the puncture Absalon, while trying to recover lost time, fell in a stream. In spite of the accident and inevitable cramps, Absalon pulled out a solid victory for both the team and Carrera. The champ exclusively wears Carrera style Shark shades and the Carrera Dragon Fly helmet.—JJS

Clarkson Eyecare gave away four 2006 St. Louis Cardinals season tickets last month at Busch Stadium as the grand finale to their season-long TeamClarkson promotion. The ceremony to present the tickets took place on the field before the start of a game between the Cardinals and the Pittsburg Pirates.The TeamClarkson promotion ran throughout the 2005 Cardinals season as part of a partnership between Clarkson Eyecare and the ball club. Each week, a TeamClarkson All-Star was chosen from entries at the practice’s 23 locations. The 20 All-Stars were invited to the September 13th game where Anthony Pona was chosen as the TeamClarkson Most Valuable Player. —JM