My dear friend, Dr. Madhusudan Kota, recently shared an interesting LinkedIn post on sensory advertising, advertisements that go beyond merely being seen. They can be touched, smelled, or experienced, making the reader an active participant rather than a passive observer.
Dr.
Kota referred to two memorable examples from The Times of India. Today
on the occasion of world Biryani Day, Daawat Biryani Rice came out with
an advertisement that made the newspaper itself smell like freshly cooked
biryani. Another edition carried the fragrance of a fabric whitener Comfort,
allowing readers to literally experience the freshness being advertised.
Many
from Gen Z and Gen Alpha may consider this a breakthrough
innovation. While it certainly feels modern, the idea itself is far from new. Back
in the mid-1980s, Hindustan Lever Limited (then HLL, now HUL) created
one of the most memorable sensory print campaigns I have ever seen.
On
one page of a newspaper advertisement, a small piece of cloth was stapled to
the page. The copy suggested that it had been washed using "the detergent
that claims to be the best value for money" an obvious reference to Nirma.
The cloth appeared reasonably clean, but it lacked brightness and sparkling
whiteness.
Turn
the page, and another piece of cloth was attached. This one was sparkling
white. The message simply stated that this cloth had been washed with Surf
Excel. The advertisement ended with a brilliant line: "Do you need
any further proof?". And the Surf washed cloth appeared soft when touched.
The
product demonstration was literally in your hands. Instead of making a claim,
the advertisement invited readers to verify it themselves. It transformed
advertising into evidence. There were many other examples as well.
Several
glossy international lifestyle magazines used to infuse pages with perfume
samples. As youngsters, we would eagerly visit the magazine stalls in Abids,
gently rub those scented pages with our fingers, and carry the fragrance with
us long after putting the magazine back. It was a delightful experience that no
television commercial could ever replicate.
Closer
home, Telugu magazines that brought out their special Deepavali annual editions
often infused their pages with the unmistakable fragrance of Punugu.
That aroma blended beautifully with the festive mood, complementing the sounds
of crackers, the glow of oil lamps, and the spiritual atmosphere of India's
most celebrated festival. Even before reading a single article, the festival
had already begun.
Today's
marketers speak of immersive experiences, multi-sensory branding,
and experiential marketing. The terminology may be new, but the thinking
is decades old. Great advertisers have always understood a simple truth: the
more senses an advertisement engages, the stronger the memory it creates.
People
may forget what they read. They may even forget what they saw. But they rarely
forget what they experienced. Perhaps that is the timeless lesson from these
remarkable campaigns.
The
best advertisements don't merely communicate. They create memories that linger,
sometimes in the mind, and sometimes, quite literally, in the air.
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