The Evolution of Eyewear Marketing

"Last year, Americans dropped $8.37 billion on prescription eyeglasses, according to the Vision Council—a good portion of that going to pay for high-end designer frames that, ordinary plastic though they be, fetch out-of-sight prices. (Toss in designer sunglasses, and you can add another $2.28 billion to the figure.) Many are shoppers who grumbled about the high cost of frames but bought them anyway. Why? Because glasses, as everybody knows, are fashion accessories," according to an Ad Week post. "Things were not always this way, a fact that the two ads on these pages render with startling clarity. How was it that the humble pair of eyeglasses went from a staid and sensible piece of ophthalmological hardware to an über-sexy design accessory? Marketing, dear reader, marketing." Read more.