Ray-Ban is throwing some serious shade at Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul.
The brand has asked the Kentucky Republican’s campaign to stop selling its iconic Wayfarer sunglasses – oftentimes worn by Paul — on the candidate’s campaign website.
A spokeswoman at Luxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban, confirmed to msnbc that it learned earlier this week that the Paul campaign had been selling Ray-Ban sunglasses with the senator’s logo without permission.
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“After a formal request from us, they promptly removed the product from their site and agreed to cease any further use of our trademarks,” the spokesperson said in a statement, which was first reported by The Hill newspaper. “Ray-Ban is not at all a political brand — we’re focused on making sunglasses that people love.,” the statement added.
Paul campaign spokesman Sergio Gor declined to comment on the matter. On the Paul campaign’s online store, the sunglasses, which were being sold for $150, gave nod to former President John F. Kennedy, who was photographed wearing similar-looking shades. “I can hear Senator Bentsen now, ‘I knew Jack Kennedy and you’re not Jack Kennedy.’ Well you and I may not be Jack Kennedy, but Rand likes Raybans and now we can all own Rand branded Raybans,” the overview of the product read. It also described the sunglasses as the “intersection of politics and cool.” Although the sunglasses are no longer for sale, there is still plenty of Paul 2016 merchandise being sold on the campaign store’s site, including “Rand on a stick” ($35) “Hillary’s hard drive” ($99.95) and a copy of the United States Constitution autographed by Paul (for a whopping $1,000).Recommended
