For decades McDonald’s has seduced the taste buds of young and old alike. It has become one of the most beloved and recognizable brands. The brand recently realized there’s something just as memorable for consumers as their golden arches, products, or jingle: their smell.
McDonald’s Netherlands is putting this to the test. A series of plain yellow and red billboards were placed in Utrecht and Leiden. The prints appear to be empty at first glance, but as passers-by approach within 5 meters, they are greeted with the distinct aroma of McDonald’s French Fries, coming from inside the billboard. This is the first time that a billboard has been used to diffuse the McDonald’s scent, making the recognizable smell its most important brand asset.
According to the campaign video, French fries are actually placed inside the billboard, and the scent is blown through tubes to a number of vents that are placed around structure holding the billboard. It is the first time that such a method has been used to spread the smell of McDonald’s.
“We are known for our distinctive brand attributes, which are primarily visual,” McDonald’s Netherlands Chief Marketing Officer Stijn Mentrop-Huliselan said. “Scent has been proven to be more effective in bringing out clear and emotional memories than images. With the addition of this next sense for this campaign, we have found a new way to remind people of good times at McDonald’s.”
The billboards were strategically placed within a 200-meter radius of McDonald’s restaurants to entice anyone who gets an appetite directly to the nearest restaurant. In a world where every brand focuses on the visual, McDonald’s chooses scent.
McDonald’s symbolizes good times.
Stijn Mentrop-Huliselan, Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s Netherlands
In March of this year, the subsidiary of McDonalds in Japan surprised the whole world when it launched a perfume with the aroma of the company’s French fries. McDonalds Japan share a post on its X account (formerly known as Twitter) informing its followers that the perfume would be available within its perfumery gallery, but only for a limited time.
The launch date of this perfume has not been announced but some details about the product have already been revealed. The packaging will be a copy of the iconic little box in which the fries are served at the restaurant.
This is not the first time the popular aroma has been exploited by the company, which in the past had already launched lip balms in the shape of French fries. The balms exuded the aroma of the iconic American fast food product.
In the new fragrance, french fries and oil are likely to be the predominant scent notes, in addition to the addition of salt and paprika scent notes.
The McDonald’s fries perfume will not, however, be the only one launched by the fast food brand in Japan, where two other fragrances will also be released in limited edition: fries with garlic mayonnaise and pepper and fries with plum salt and seaweed.
This is not the first time this type of product has been launched on the market. In 2022, the Idaho Potato Commission, the main producer of french fries in the United States, also launched its own perfume, Frites by Idaho, which was made with potatoes grown in Idaho and essential oils.
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