The consumer nose best.
McDonald’s restaurants in the Netherlands have launched a revolutionary method to attract consumers to their iconic burgers and fries: by launching the “world’s first billboard” that smells of their customers’ food.
“This is the first time that a billboard has been used to disseminate McDonald’s flavor,” Golden Arches representatives described in a statement released this week about the aromatic advertising initiative.
At first glance, the logoless red and yellow billboards, installed in Utrecht and Leiden, evoke sculptures from a minimalist modern art movement.
However, when pedestrians pass within 15 feet of these spartan structures, they are greeted by the distinctive smell of McDonald’s fries – think an oversized scratch and sniff without the scratch.
McDonald’s shared footage showing fast food fans gathering around these Mondrian-like monoliths as they tried to guess the smell.
“Is this McDonald’s?” asked one passerby, while another surmised, “It smells like a Happy Meal.” »
Meanwhile, a third hit the nail on the head, exclaiming: “McDonald’s fries.”
How do you capture the complex aroma of Golden Arches gastronomy in a giant rectangle?
A McDonald’s employee places a tray of fries on the billboard, which relies on high-tech fans to “suck up and diffuse” the smell.
There you have it, customers are enjoying their noses.
While this campaign may sound like a Willy Wonka-inspired gimmick, there’s good reason for customers to follow their schnoz, chain reps say.
“Smell has been proven to be more effective than images in eliciting clear and emotional memories,” explained Stijn Mentrop-Huliselan, marketing director of McDonald’s Netherlands. “By including this new meaning in our advertising, we found a new way to remind people of the good times at McDonald’s.”
In line with this, these scent licks are strategically placed within 600 meters of a McDonald’s so that customers can follow the scent trail to the source.
New York Post
