J&J directs a new campaign with Naomi Watts in the spotlight

Johnson & Johnson has teamed up with Naomi Watts to put a clearer focus on vision health, leveraging the actor’s star power to encourage women over 40 to make eye exams part of their self-care routines.

J&J’s vision portfolio includes a range of treatments for age-related conditions such as cataracts and the loss of clear close-up eyesight. Watts, the star of movies including “Mulholland Drive” and “King Kong,” has spoken about menopause in recent years, setting up a beauty and wellness brand aimed at the demographic in 2022 and publishing a book on the topic in 2025.

The overlap between the work of J&J and Watts has led to a joint push to get women over 40 to focus on eye health. Together, J&J and Watts plan to encourage women to have routine eye checks and reframe eye care as part of holistic healthy aging.

A J&J-commissioned survey found 80% of Americans agreed that clear vision is key to feeling confident and youthful. The survey found people generally prioritize clear vision over outward appearance. Yet almost half of respondents who thought they needed vision correction said they hadn’t seen an eye care professional in the past year.

Watts said in a statement that eyesight changes are common as women age and go through menopause, but “eye health is still missing from the conversation.” The Hollywood star wants to encourage people to see eye health as an essential part of overall well-being, starting by scheduling their annual eye exam.

The survey found gaps in understanding of the benefits for eye exams. J&J said 70% of respondents knew the exams can uncover medical conditions or understood how common vision correction is after age 40.

J&J added a new age-related vision treatment to its portfolio in June with the launch of a contact lens for people with astigmatism and presbyopia. Peter Menziuso, group chair at J&J’s vision business, discussed the launch at a UBS event in November, telling attendees that patients who initially tried the lenses for three months are now buying annual supplies. The breadth of J&J’s portfolio means getting a person to go for an eye exam can unlock years of sales across a range of products.

“Your eye begins to age a bit and now presbyopia kicks in and you can move into contact lenses or you can have laser surgery, laser vision correction. Then, inevitably, that presbyopic eye is going to become more mature, and that's where cataract comes. That's where the intraocular lens plays,” Menziuso said. “For us, it’s one patient over a lifetime.”