How McDonald’s Made a Billboard Smell Like Fries
The waft of baked bread when you walk past a bakery. The smell of garlic frying in a pan at an Italian restaurant. The aromas of coffee at an office in the morning. Not only can you immediately smell those smells when they’re mentioned, but they also trigger a hunger, and a need to satisfy that craving.
In the latest spot from McDonald’s Netherlands and its partnering agency TBWA\NEBOKO, it was the iconic smell of the fast food chain’s French fries which inspired the campaign. Capitalising on the fact that smell and touch are rarely used within the advertising realm, the campaign brought to life a billboard, using the principles of Smell-O-Vision, and making people crave a cheeky Maccies as they walk past.
With the help of production company Raúl&Rigel, the campaign features a big, red and yellow billboards (in the iconic McDonald’s colours) which not only contains a slot for freshly baked fries to be slotted into, but also a vent to spread this smell across the streets of Amsterdam. In an even bolder move, the billboard was completely blank, featuring no branding or logos – just those iconic colours.
To hear more about building on the brand’s iconic legacy with this spot, TBWA\NEBOKO’s chief creative officer Darre van Dijk tells LBB’s Nisna Mahtani how the team brought the scrumptious-smelling campaign to life.
LBB> I’ve been waiting for Smell-O-Vision to become a norm. How did you incorporate that idea into this campaign and what was the starting point?
Darre> The smell of McDonald’s is an iconic asset for the McDonald’s brand, as recognisable as their products, Golden Arches, or even their jingle. That made us wonder if we could make an outdoor activation where the McDonald’s smell is the ad. So we tested this with a red and yellow billboard with nothing on it but the iconic smell and asked: could we make people think of McDonald’s?
We conducted an on-site experiment where we captured bystanders walking in front of the billboard. They reacted to the smell coming out of it and were interviewed afterwards. After targeting many Dutch noses, most people recognised it was the iconic French fries from McDonald’s.
LBB> Can you talk us through how smell as a sense affects us and why you used this method within the McDonald’s campaign?
Darre> We are always trying new ways to earn the audience’s attention and by origin, McDonald’s is not only in the business of burgers but in the business of entertainment, as Ray Kroc would say. So by making the scent the center of the ad, we are actually entertaining people.
LBB> To accompany the smell, you went very minimalistic with the branding – no logo, no additional colours, no slogans, or text – just the one colour and the smell. Why did you decide to do this?
Darre> Leading up to this, we had all kinds of thoughts. For instance, should we help the audience with a yellow question mark or even a line? But we decided that the smell is iconic and recognisable enough. Also, this makes the outdoors even more unique. So we just went for the simplest idea, except for using a red and yellow background.
LBB> What was the process of creating the billboards like? How did you design for optimal French fry holding and ventilating?
Darre> At first, we tried to make a scent just like perfume, but it wasn’t close to the original smell of French fries. So we collaborated with a production company (Raúl&Rigel), that specialised in fabricating unusual billboards. They developed a series of red and yellow billboards that looked completely normal from the outside. On the inside, however, there is a compartment where the French fries could be placed. They created a system within the billboard that intensifies and diffuses the smell of the fries through heat and ventilation, directing and spreading the smell towards bystanders walking in front of it.
LBB> How does the McDonald’s brand’s existing legacy allow for this kind of campaign?
Darre> The marketing team is always encouraging bold moves. We have a good relationship with CMO Stijn Mentrop-Huliselan, marketing manager Karin van Prooijen and even with the franchisees. There is a lot of trust from both sides and that’s what’s needed to do something creative like this.
LBB> Further on from that, how has the brand and TBWA\NEBOKO’s partnership evolved over the years? How does it benefit the creativity which comes from the agency-brand partnership?
Darre> TBWA\NEBOKO has been working with McDonald’s in the Netherlands for over 15 years and over the years we have developed many creative campaigns together. I truly think we have ketchup in our blood.
Every year, at the big franchisee meeting, I present the work of the coming year together with the McDonald’s’ marketing team. It’s not common to have the agency presenting at these meetings.
Also, we have a pretty good relationship with the McDonald’s worldwide team. TBWA is one of their roster agency partners. Our local agencies in France and Japan, just to name two countries, are all doing great work that builds further on the Golden Arches legacy.
LBB> In terms of getting people to stop and interact, how did people react to the billboard?
Darre> We captured bystanders walking in front of the billboard. Bystanders reacted to the smell coming out of it and were interviewed afterwards. After targeting thousands of Dutch noses, most people recognised it was McDonald’s.
Some even turned around to go to the nearest McDonald’s.
LBB> How did you choose where to place the interactive billboards?
Darre> They were strategically placed near a McDonald’s, otherwise, it feels like you crave French fries but can’t get them.
LBB> Did you see many people going towards the McDonald’s restaurants as they smelt the fries?
Darre> People always go in and out of McDonald’s restaurants and yes, we saw people going in after passing by the billboard. But we don’t know if it was the billboard that made them go. What we do know is passing these billboards made them smell McDonald’s. So we got their attention in a more attractive way. And that was the intention.
LBB> The beauty of an activation like this is that there are no language barriers, it could be a global activation! Was this something you considered during the process?
Darre> The beauty of the Netherlands is that you can easily pilot something because we’re a small country. We’re also a little bit crazy and not afraid to try things out. It is something worth developing, so who knows?! And it’s also a universal smell!
LBB> What was the most rewarding part of seeing the campaign come to life? And what was the trickiest to execute?
Darre> The trickiest thing was seeing if it would actually work, and the beautiful thing was that it did! We captured the experiment, and the video went viral. It was featured in over 300 news items across the globe. Ultimately, having ideas travel the world is exactly what you want.
LBB> What’s next to come from the brand?
Darre> There are more beautiful things on the table. From family platforms to ideas like these, as long as it is true to the brand. Perhaps we could even do more with the scent…
