Campaign Raises Vision Health Awareness Targeting Aging Women
Johnson & Johnson Partners with Star Naomi Watts to Promote Routine Eye Exams as Part of Self-Care
The Johnson & Johnson (J&J) corporation has teamed up with the acclaimed actress Naomi Watts in a communication campaign to put a clearer focus on vision health. The campaign leverages the actor’s star power to encourage women over 40 to make eye exams an essential part of their self-care routines.
Campaign Context and Messaging:
J&J’s vision portfolio includes a range of treatments for age-related conditions such as cataracts and presbyopia (the loss of clear close-up eyesight). Naomi Watts, who has been vocal about menopause and launched her own beauty/wellness brand, is a fitting figure to convey the message.
The joint goal of J&J and Watts is to encourage women to have routine eye checks and to reframe eye care as an integral component of holistic healthy aging.
The Eye Health Awareness Gap:
A J&J-commissioned survey revealed:
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Vision Prioritization: 80% of Americans agreed that clear vision is key to feeling confident and youthful. People generally prioritize clear vision over outward appearance.
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Disparity in Action: Yet, almost half of respondents who believed they needed vision correction had not seen an eye care professional in the past year.
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Knowledge Gaps: Only 70% of respondents knew that eye exams could uncover medical conditions or understood how common vision correction is after age 40.
Naomi Watts stated that while eyesight changes are common as women age and go through menopause, “eye health is still missing from the conversation.”
Lifetime Business Model:
The group chair of J&J’s vision business explained that getting a person to go for an eye exam can unlock years of sales across a wide range of products.
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Aging Cycle: As the eye begins to age and presbyopia kicks in, patients may move into contact lenses or laser surgery. Inevitably, the presbyopic eye will mature further, leading to cataracts, where intraocular lenses (IOLs) come into play.
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“One Patient Over a Lifetime” Strategy: The corporation views this as a strategy to serve “one patient over a lifetime,” leveraging the breadth of its vision portfolio (including a new contact lens launched in June for people with astigmatism and presbyopia).
