One of the less-discussed aspects of the pandemic—relatively speaking of course, since it feels like every facet of life, business, etc. has been discussed and dissected at great length by now—has been its effect on our vision.

According to an extensive 2021 report by the Canadian Council of the Blind, there were three million fewer optometry visits in 2020 compared to the previous year.

Two years of increased screen time and telecommuting, combined with postponed and/or cancelled eye exams, means that a whole lot of Canadians are beginning to re-enter a world that’s considerably blurrier and ill-defined than they remembered.

The Eastern Canadian eyewear brand New Look is leaning into that insight with a new western-themed campaign from lg2 Montreal that features two blind-as-a-bat men squaring off, gunslinger style, in an underground parking garage. It’s a tense standoff, complete with the usual audio and visual cues familiar to anyone who’s ever seen an on-screen gunfight—from the spaghetti western music, to close-up shots of twitchy trigger fingers.

After eyeballing each other from afar, the showdown between these two Squint Eastwoods comes to a peaceful resolution when they reach into their holster (actually their pocket) and whip out a pair of glasses. Putting them on, they recognize each other.

“There is a strong and funny connection between this universal vision insight and the classic shots of western movies,” said lg2 creative director Geneviève Langlois.

“For New Look, which always wants to differentiate itself from the competition in its marketing approach, this is an opportunity to entertain and engage the client with a message of reunion between two people in the midst of the end of lockdown and [a return to] normal life.”

The campaign is running in Quebec until April 17, with a 30-second spot running across the Quebec networks Noovo andTVA, as well as in Ottawa with RNC Media.

The eyewear is available for a fistful of dollars.