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Advertisers Go for the Nose

It's not just perfume in magazines anymore

By Lev Weinstein, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 17, 2008 8:51 PM CDT

(Newser) – If you think scented advertising begins and ends with old-school scratch-and-sniff ads, brace yourself, and your nose, for a coming assault. It's sort of a double-whammy in the advertising world, Salon reports: Marketers are learning more every day about how smells hold sway over our emotions, and chemists can synthesize just about anything. "Scent will soon be a normal part of advertising and entertainment," said one industry leader.

Some successful examples: The aroma of milk chocolate circulating around a Hershey's vending machine, the smell of Nivea pumped into a theater via air-conditioning ducts, and various pleasant scents placed everywhere from casinos to department stores. "Scent goes right to your emotions," says the industry expert. "And if I can appeal to your primal senses, I've got you."

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

The Nose-an ad man's best friend (Style Photgraphs)

Some think this new trend doesn't exactly smell like a rose (Duzan Sidar)

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Scent is a weird channel that people don't think about on regular basis. Once it becomes more standardized, people will get over it. - Avery Gilbert, author

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Advertisers Go for the Nose