McDonald's Netherlands Launches 'Smells Like McDonald's'

McDonald's understands its iconic status around the world, with a logo that's easily recognizable and world-famous fries that are hard to resist.

That's why for its latest campaign in the Netherlands, it decided to drop all visuals and rely solely on smell. 

The fast-food giant has launched "Smells Like McDonald's," it's latest out-of-home (OOH) marketing effort that gauges just how well people can recognize the brand just from the scent of its food.

Banking on Scents

In a short one-minute ad, the company tests out this theory.

"We wondered, if people can recognize McDonald's by this delicious smell alone, what if we had nothing else on our billboards? Nope, not even the logo," the narrator explains. 

The billboard, with no graphics and written text on it, boasts nothing but a bright red paint akin to the brand's colors.

But don't be fooled — inside the billboard is a compartment containing the restaurant's world-famous fries. These fries then emit their scent to passers-by through a ventilator.

The blank billboards were strategically placed along high-traffic walkways and near McDonald's restaurants in Utrecht and Leiden, with the goal of letting customers' "uncontrollable cravings begin."

How Did Passers-By React?

People that passed the billboard then began to recognize the scent, with almost everyone guessing McDonald's correctly. "It smells like a happy meal," one passer-by commented. 

"People could look away, but they couldn't smell away. It's the first billboard where the smell becomes the ad," the narrator shares, as the spot concludes. 

McDonald's Netherlands CMO Stijn Mentrop-Huliselan explained the idea behind the inventive campaign. 

"McDonald's is all about Good Times. We are well known for our distinctive brand assets that they are mostly visual," he shared in a press release.

"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."

Editing by Katherine 'Makkie' Maclang