Cookie-Scented Ad Campaign Crumbles

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

06 Dec 2006 04:30 PM

You're familiar with the "Got Milk?" campaign, right? Well, here's a story about an ingenious twist on the campaign that just got dunked for reasons that made me shake my head (see if your head wags after you read why).

The new marketing campaign to promote milk included outfitting five San Francisco bus shelters with cookie-scented cardboard strips at a cost of about $30 per shelter. Basically, scented oils were sandwiched between cardboard cards emblazoned with "Got Milk?" and affixed to shelter walls, in hopes that the smell of just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies would spark cravings for milk.

The creator of the ads was quoted as saying that the addition of the cookie scent was a takeoff of the popular free sample strips of perfume, cosmetics and other consumer products found in magazines. Sounds like a great idea, only it didn't prove to smell like one.

The promotion was launched at bus shelters on Monday. However, less than 24 hours later the ads were yanked. According to news reports, yesterday, city officials ordered the company that holds the advertising contract for its bus shelters, to remove the adhesive strips. The reason: apparently, the Municipal Transportation Agency was flooded with complaints about the scented boards. Some called the ads "controversial." Milk-and-cookies controversial? It's true. According to reports, some critics expressed concern over potential allergic reactions; others said the smell was too strong and made them sick, while others complained the ads could be offensive to the poor and homeless who can't afford to buy cookies.

Here's why I was left shaking my head. You've got one group that claims the smell "made them sick" while another group was concerned that it would be "offensive to the homeless" who couldn't afford the sweet treats. One seems to negate the other. After all, who's to say that the homeless people wouldn't think the smell was offensive? What's more, one of the reasons the bus shelters were chosen to display the ads was to help combat the frequent blasts of exhaust and the less-than-wonderful whiffs that often permeate a big-city public transportation station. I don't know about you, but I'm thinking the smell of cookies beats the smell of exhaust---though combining the two may produce a less than desirable effect.

What do you think? Should the city have mandated the ad company to yank the ads?

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Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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Tracy Woods (772) 06 Dec 2006 11:31 PM

HA....personally I think the whole thing is ridiculous and that there are people out there that just need something...ANYTHING to complain about.

Valorie Delp (49340) 07 Dec 2006 04:12 AM

Cookie smelling bus shelters would make my dh puke! OTOH, he'd just wait a little farther away?!

Michele Cheplic (37339) 07 Dec 2006 10:38 AM

Tracy--I must agree with you on that point and Valorie you now have another reason to be thankful that you live in NYC! :)

Pam Connell (2658) 11 Dec 2007 01:02 PM

I am very allergic to perfumes and scented products--sometimes before I can even smell them I feel my sinuses close up. For my mother and many asthmatics, chemicals in scents can trigger serious breathing problems. So, while it was a creative idea, I'm afraid I agree with not having scents in places as small and enclosed as a bus.

It's actually a big problem for me--someone got the bright idea to spray "holiday scents" at my husband's office Christmas party last year and I became nauseated and had to leave with a migraine, after splurging for a new dress and nice haircut which I almost never do.

I'd add a plea to people to be considerate in how they use perfumes and aftershave if they are going to an enclosed space where people cannot move about--such as a bus, a church service or long performance with assigned seating. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! (and lungs)!