ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The Vision Council is promoting the importance of protective eyewear with the annual celebration of National Sunglasses Day, to be observed this week on Thursday, June 27. The commemorative holiday, which has garnered support and promotions from organizations, companies, practitioners and optical suppliers across the eyewear and eyecare industry, reminds consumers that wearing sunglasses is not only fashionable, but also a health necessity to protect the eyes from long- and short-term damage from the sun’s harsh UV rays.

The National Sunglasses Day campaign went viral for the past three years, garnering more than one billion print, online, social media and broadcast impressions in 2018, earning it a Gold Bulldog PR Award in the Best Viral Campaign category. In addition to industry-wide backing, the campaign saw support from top tier outlets such as InStyle.com, Forbes.com, “Today,” “Tampa Bay Morning Blend,” “The Daily Buzz,” as well as posts on the Instagram and Twitter pages of Jennifer Lopez, Luke Bryan, the NFL among many others in 2018.

The Vision Council is encouraging members and the industry at large to participate in the celebratory day by holding exclusive events, offering sales incentives to consumers and buyers, and posting to company social media channels using the official hashtags, #SunglassesSelfie and #NationalSunglassesDay, and tagging @TheVisionCouncil on Facebook and Instagram and @OpticalIndustry on Twitter.

The Vision Council will also be continuing outreach to consumers via social media, as well as pitching key entertainment, fashion, health and lifestyle consumer media outlets and influencers, In addition to a PR newswire press release about the day, The Vision Council will be sponsoring a celebrity Instagram post to be published on June 27, promoting the occasion and will be offering National Sunglasses Day Facebook frames for users to apply to their profile picture.

Following 2018’s successful media tour, this year The Vision Council partnered with celebrity fashion stylist and television personality Brad Goreski to host a series of interviews to share National Sunglasses Day messaging to consumers. The media tour—which resulted in more than 23 live and live-to-tape TV and radio interviews—was strategically filmed on June 19, one week prior to National Sunglasses Day, to allow stations more time to prepare their segments leading up to June 27.

The majority of the segments will be airing in the week prior to and on June 27, and will focus on key campaign messaging, along with UV eye health and style tips, ultimately encouraging consumers to wear and purchase UV-protective eyewear products.

To further promote campaign messaging, on June 27, Bridgitte Shen Lee, optometrist and spokesperson for The Vision Council, will be speaking at a Congressional briefing with the aim of educating attendees on the importance of wearing UV-protective eyewear, not just on National Sunglasses Day, but year-round. Dr. Shen Lee will present an overview on the health impacts of UV radiation on the eyes, the risk factors of not wearing UV-protective eyewear for kids and adults, and the sunglasses and eyewear solutions available to protect the eyes, as well as establish the importance of educating the public about how they can protect their vision.