Those walking around Utrecht and Leiden recently might have noticed the newest advertisements for the fast food chain McDonald’s - blank red and yellow scented billboards, hoping to entice customers into buying food. 

World’s first scented billboards used by McDonald’s in the Netherlands

The new scented billboards are believed to be the first of their kind in the world, and were designed by an advertising agency based in Amsterdam by the name of TBWA\Neboko, in collaboration with production company Raúl&Rigel. The boards are blank red or yellow billboards that emit the smell of McDonald’s french fries, attempting to call hungry passersby into their restaurants. 

The billboards have been spotted (or sniffed) in the Dutch cities of Leiden and Utrecht and work by having a compartment where the McDonald’s fries are stored. According to AdWeek, an internal heat-and-ventilation system then amplifies the smell, so that people walking near the billboard can smell the nearby fries. 

McDonalds are keen to experiment with sensory advertising

“Smell has been proven to be more effective at sparking clear and emotional memories than images,” Stijn Mentrop-Huliselan, CMO of McDonald's Netherlands said. “With the inclusion of this next sense in our advertising, we found a new way to remind people of Good Times at McDonald's."

The billboards in Leiden and Utrecht were placed strategically close to McDonald’s restaurants, making it easier to entice some customers into buying French fries from their local McDonald’s, according to Food & Wine. 

Thumb image credit: Wolf-photography / Shutterstock.com