ADVERTISING / MARKETING : Oakley Sunglasses Given a Leg Up by Olympians on TV

Sunglass maker Ray-Ban was spending big bucks on advertising during the Olympics, but it was Irvine-based Oakley sunglasses that captured the best spots.

Several athletes, including decathlon bronze-medalist Dave Johnson, wore Oakley’s glasses during their television appearances.

“Dave Johnson we’ve been working with a couple of years, but a lot of the rest were surprises,” said Jim Jannard, advertising director for Oakley.

The company bought one 60-second commercial from NBC during the final half of the U.S. “Dream Team’s” gold-medal basketball game. The network reportedly was reluctant to sell a single spot to Oakley until the company met the price--more than $250,000.