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Wales Online
Wales Online
Lydia Patrick & Daniel Smith

Man spots his cartoon doppelganger on Specsavers leaflet


A man thought he was 'seeing things' when he spotted his cartoon doppelganger on a Specsavers contact lenses leaflet. Joe Newman, 32, went into a branch in Cardiff, Wales, to try out contact lenses for the first time after wearing glasses for his entire life.

When collecting his lenses, he spotted a 'familiar face' on the contact lens ‘wear and care' guide. Staring back at him in paper form, was his cartoon doppelganger, with the exact same face, hair and even top.

Joe, a singer, from Barry, South Wales, said: “I couldn’t believe it, the resemblance was crazy. I was so surprised I even showed staff in the store, but they didn’t see how similar we looked. I even turned and said 'should’ve gone to Specsavers’ to them.”

Joe went to a wedding the night before and his hair was styled in a flat-top - making the resemblance even more uncanny.

“The brochure made me smile because growing up as a queer person of colour there wasn’t much representation in the media," he said. "When I saw someone who looked like me on the leaflet, it meant a lot.”

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His friends and family thought the cartoon was a custom creation because it looked so similar. Specsavers have named the illustration Joe and have offered him free contacts on his return when his trial ends on September 2.

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