Got Cookies? Cookie-Scented Bus Stop Ads Crumble

Cookie-scented bus stop ads crumble
Eleni Economides, The Examiner
Dec 6, 2006 3:00 AM (19 hrs ago)


SAN FRANCISCO - Apparently, not everyone enjoys the smell of oven-fresh chocolate chip cookies while waiting for their bus.


Scented adhesive strips, applied to five Muni bus stops to give commuters a smell of homemade cookies as part of a "Got Milk?" ad campaign, were removed after just 36 hours following complaints from residents with health concerns and others, according to the Municipal Transportation Agency.

Representatives from the California Milk Processor Board, which was behind the ads, said complaints were from groups that are trying to ban all public scents, anti-obesity organizations, diabetes organizations and homeless advocates who argued the smell would leave them hungry and unable to purchase food.

In the latest "Got Milk?" campaign, launched Monday, scented bus shelter advertisements made their U.S. debut, according Louis Zafonte, spokesman for New York-based Arcade Marketing, which designed the ads.

"Scent is a primary driver of memory," Zafonte said. "When you smell baby powder or chocolate chip cookies, everyone feels good."

To overcome the frequent blasts of exhaust and the funky whiffs that often permeate a big-city bus shelter, scented oils were sandwiched between cardboard cards emblazoned with "Got Milk?" and affixed to shelter walls.