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Company: Oakley

3D Eyewear Brand: Oakley 3D Eyewear

Key Features: Proprietary HDO-3D technology uses passive, circular polarization in high wrap frames. Greater curvature around the eyes provides wider field of view while maintaining optical clarity and minimizing glare. Ghosting or “crosstalk” is virtually eliminated.

When it comes to branding, few companies do it with as much panache as Oakley. It’s no surprise, then, that the sunglass superstar is making a dramatic entry into the rapidly emerging 3D eyewear category through a high profile partnership with Disney. The result of that collaboration is Tron Limited Edition 3D Gascan, a special, one-off product that accompanies the release of “Tron: Legacy”—a much-anticipated Disney 3D film opening in U.S. theaters on Dec. 17.

“The premiere of Tron: Legacy is a great opportunity for us to introduce moviegoers to the unique innovations of Oakley 3D eyewear,” said Oakley CEO Colin Baden.



COLIN BADEN

Based on Oakley’s popular Gascan model sunglass, the Tron Limited Edition 3D Gascan is accented with graphics derived from the movie. The glasses come with a custom Microclear bag that also sports Tron imagery.

Oakley Tron limited edition 3D Gascan.
Stephen Teglas, vice president and general manager of fashion and home North America at Disney Consumer Products, said, “Collaborating with Oakley provided Disney with a great opportunity to interpret the aesthetics and themes of Tron: Legacy into cutting edge eyewear for fans to enjoy.”

In an exclusive interview with VM, Baden revealed that Oakley began developing its 3D eyewear two years ago, when it first sensed that new 3D hardwear and content providers were coming online.

DreamWorks Animation SGK were the first to express interest in a 3D eyewear solution. “Jeffrey Katzenberg started rattling our doors saying ‘Hurry up, hurry up, get in the business,’” said Baden. “We had a meeting with DreamWorks, and they showed us all the different formats for 3D. It became obvious to us that passive technology was the easiest to develop a platform as far as gaming and theater are concerned. It doesn’t involve all this onerous stuff,” he said, holding up a pair of bulky, unfashionable active-shutter 3D eyewear. “We put our specific energies toward plano because of the ease of access to the market,” added Baden.
To gear up for the 3D market, Baden said Oakley is collaborating with “everyone,” from Disney to other 3D content providers and to makers of 3D TVs. The company intends to follow the Tron Limited Edition 3D Gascan with other Oakley branded 3D glasses, but will also pursue opportunities to provide 3D lenses to other brands owned by parent company Luxottica as well as produce OEM product on a contract basis, he noted.

Chris Petrillo, Oakley’s category manager for watches and 3D optics, said Oakley does not recommend that its 3D eyewear be worn as sunwear.

“We’re optimizing our lens for the intended use,” Petrillo told VM, adding that sunwear and 3D eyewear have different light transmission requirements. “What we’re after with our 3D lens is the most immersive experience.”

The Tron Gascan model can be customized for other applications using different accents. “We picked Gascan because it lends itself to the design solution,” Petrillo explained. “We have a great opportunity now to tell our summer blockbuster story, our holiday blockbuster story, our Super Bowl story, our ESPN story.”

Oakley is releasing The Tron Limited Edition 3D Gascan this month through its own stores and website as well as through select Sunglass Hut locations. The stores are located in malls with 3D-equipped theaters showing Tron. The glasses will retail for $150, compared with $120 for Oakley’s standard 3D glasses.

Baden said Oakley plans to broaden distribution to include optical retailers and independent eyecare professionals as the company expands its 3D line. However, Baden feels “it is still a little early to put this into retail,” because 3D is still a new and evolving technology. He said in order to sell 3D eyewear effectively, optical retailers need to create a premium presentation to attract consumers. “We need to build a way to get consumers connected to real legitimate optical products,” he said.

Although “big box” consumer electronic chains as well as on-line optical retailers and conventional optical retailers are all vying for a piece of the 3D pie, Petrillo believes the optical channel is uniquely equipped to succeed.

“The optical community is the only one capable of educating the consumer and giving the consumer a positive experience,” he asserted. “It’s up to them to understand the business so they can develop a point of view that helps the consumer.”

Baden’s message to optical retailers and ECPs is straighforward: “This is not going away, so get educated.” ■ ■