Saturday Night Live Sketch Drives Sales of ‘Little Red Glasses’
“Little Red Glasses” sketch on Saturday Night Live, March 8 featuring (from left) Sarah Sherman, host Lady Gaga, and Ego Nwodim. Will Heath/NBC

Saturday Night Live Sketch Drives Sales of ‘Little Red Glasses’

Eyebobs sees uptick in orders following an SNL skit featuring Lady Gaga poking fun at women who wear red readers.

The order raised eyebrows at Eyebobs headquarters in Minneapolis last week: six pair of red reading glasses to be rush delivered to 30 Rock in New York—home of NBC Studios and Saturday Night Live. Employees of the eyewear brand eagerly tuned in last Saturday night, unsure what to expect.

And there they were—not just a prop but the punch line of a sketch starring guest host Lady Gaga called “Little Red Glasses.” In it, Gaga and cast members including Sarah Sherman and Ego Nwodim poke fun at ladies pushing 60 who wear red readers to “look funky” —from their book clubs to their river boat cruises.

Eyebob’s Deep Lee garnet red half rim readers were worn by Sherman in the sketch. Eyebobs immediately added an “As Seen On SNL” label to the style on its website, where the glasses are currently on final sale, marked down from $98 to $49. Could a re-release be in sight? Eyebobs quickly pushed its entire collection of red frames to its homepage with a quote from the skit: “Spunky and a little bit funky.”

“As a company, we’ve always made ‘original glasses for original people,’ and we love that SNL featured our ‘little red glasses’ in their Lady Gaga skit last weekend,” said Katie Mack, Eyebobs’ vice president of marketing. “As usual, they nailed the cultural zeitgeist and had a little fun on behalf of all of the women who love their red glasses. Eyebobs has something for everyone—from quirky to classic.”

Seems Eyebobs gets the last laugh: the company reports that sales of red glasses have doubled since the SNL skit aired on March 8. The Deep Lee is now the No. 4 selling frame on eyebobs.com.