Scentvertising - Canadian Tire Ads Let You 'Smell the Spring'

Trend Hunter has written a lot about the rise of scentvertising, and Canadian Tire is the next example.

Recently while I was perusing a new home decor/fashion/beauty magazine I was overcome by the aroma of campfire.  I was sitting on my couch and outside remained at least 2 feet of snow from the last storm, so I knew the unlikeness that someone was indeed roasting wienies outside. As I read on, the odour grew stronger until finally I came across a full page spring ad for Canadian Tire.

Following the path of many fragrance companies, Canadian Tire has taken the sniff strip to a new level using the familiar paper peel-back strip format to attract the attention of the female reader. On the reverse of the ad were six coupons for various barbecue related products. I have since found a second such ad, also in a typically female read magazine offering a whiff of freshly cut grass, with money saving coupons for lawn care products on the back.

What a great way for this historically testosterone driven company to reach the 35-45 year old female target market.  I may not run to the store to purchase a new lawn mower, but I sure have told a lot of people about the ad and some of them indeed set out to see the new models.

Scentvertising - Top 10 Scent Marketing Campaigns

Incorporating the sense of smell into advertising is a new marketing phenomenon that is starting to see larger corporations catch on. At Trend Hunter, we’ve kept our eye on what’s been dubbed as “Scent Marketing” for some time now, watching it evolve from smaller companies promoting scratch ‘n’ snif… [More]