Eye of the Buffalo

Emergency UV protection on Planet Earth

What?: Jay Kay is teaming up with Oakley eyewear on a limited-edition set of “slamming hot” designer sunglasses. The sunglasses will feature an integrated MP3 player with 1GB memory, hidden controls, and removable earphones. The collaboration marks 15 years since the launch of Jamiroquai’s debut album – Emergency On Planet Earth – and the frames will come pre-loaded with two remixed tracks from the album – ‘Too Young To Die’ and the title track.

The tongue-twistingly-named frames, entitled Oakley JK15 Split Thump, will be “ultra-exclusive” states Jamiroquai’s official site, with only 250 pairs available worldwide. The frames themselves will feature Jamiroquai’s iconic ‘buffalo man’ logo and the integrated MP3 player can store up to 500 songs with seven hours’ playback.

So what?: The last issue of BBF saw American Idol judge Randy Jackson sitting pretty atop his ‘eyewear-for-men-with-large-heads’ empire. Now Jay Kay wants in on the 3.03B unit eyewear sales predictions for 2010. With mobile having a hard time convincing consumers that one device (as opposed to a separate MP3 and mobile) is better than two, eyewear seems unlikely to capture the all-in-one market. Split Thump also seems an odd choice of name given Jay was cautioned in 2006 for punching a photographer.

“The angle is clearly a PR one for Oakley, with such a limited run, and a functionality that is very clever but hardly mainstream. However, does Jamiroguai have the cut through to their target audience that they require?”
Dom Hodge, Strategist, FRUKT

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