Made in the Shades

Tennis star Gabriela Sabatini looked smashing in her Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses, while crooner Willie Nelson struck a brawny pose in his Aviators, the shades Tom Cruise made famous in “Top Gun.”

That was the late ‘80s, when the world’s leading premium sunglass maker chased sales by linking its most popular shades to a slew of famous faces. Ray-Ban’s three-year print ad campaign, titled the “Great Performers” series, also tapped tennis standouts Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl, beach volleyball ace Karch Kiraly and past America’s Cup champion Dennis Conner.

“We took people on the cusp of becoming household names,” said Sondra Wellmerling, marketing director at the Rochester, N.Y.-based firm, a Bausch & Lomb subsidiary. “They were successful but not mega-stars, so the ad campaign became ‘aspirational.’ ” The ads, produced by the Levine Huntley agency, are credited with helping Ray-Ban sales peak in the early ‘90s.

Sales stagnated in recent years, rebounding in the second-half of 1997 thanks to promotional tie-ins to the hit film “Men in Black.” As a result of that movie, Ray-Ban saw a threefold increase in sales of its Predator line. Ray-Ban dominates the premium sunglass segment with an estimated 40% market share.

Ray-Ban recently unveiled a $40-million ad campaign by New York-based Bozell Worldwide, its first global branding effort. But you won’t see celebrities in the new ads. Ray-Ban wants to play up product attributes, such as scratch-resistant lenses and anti-glare properties.

“Companies are still using celebrities, but I think consumers now want a little bit more rational reason why they should buy products,” said Bob Moore, vice president of global Ray-Ban sales. “Since we’ve seen so many celebrity endorsements, they don’t work quite as well as before.”