McDonald's launches ad that smells like fries

McDonald's has created a first-of-its-kind ad that smells like fries...

A series of plain red and yellow billboards were planted across Utrecht and Leiden in the Netherlands. At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary – until passersby were greeted with the signature smell of McDonald's French fries coming from inside the ad.

Their latest campaign was strategically positioned within 200 metres of McDonald's restaurants, enticing people to satisfy their cravings.

McDonald's

They later showcased their work in a video posted to their official YouTube page, fittingly called "Smells Like McDonald's".

"You know it when you smell it," the voiceover says. "So we wondered if people can recognise McDonald's by its delicious smell alone."

The clip shared behind-the-scenes footage demonstrating how the stunt was pulled off.

They did so by attaching ventilators to the billboards which contained the fries inside and targeted "thousands of noses across the Netherlands".

"People could look away, but they couldn't smell away," it continued.

"Perfect when you roll off the night train at 7am on a Sunday," one viewer commented, while another added: "I wish I had a Netherlands McDonald's near me in the USA... all we have are the standard Mcdonalds.. but the love that goes into Netherland Mcdonald's completes the experience."

Smells Like McDonald'swww.youtube.com

In a statement, Stijn Mentrop-Huliselan, Chief Marketing Officer at McDonald’s Netherlands, said: "McDonald’s is all about good times. We are well known for our distinctive brand assets that are mostly visual.

"Smell has been proven to be more effective at sparking clear and emotional memories than images. With the inclusion of this next sense in our advertising, we found a new way to remind people of good times at McDonald’s."

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