"In what it's calling an "aroma ad," home goods and fragrance corporation Bath & Body Works is pumping vanilla and fresh pine scent from diffusers attached to steel girders in the tunnels connecting the subway beneath Grand Central Station in New York City. As The Associated Press reports, commuters' olfactory senses are being assaulted by the "Fresh Balsam" scent as part of a promotion campaign in collaboration with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)."
"But whether everybody appreciates an ambush by a cheap department store perfume while trying to navigate a busy subway station, let alone whether it's really as safe as the company claims, remains unclear. Should that really be part of the unwritten contract we agree to on public transit? As if being exposed to other strangers' overzealous applications of fragrances in public wasn't enough."
Bath & Body Works installed diffusers attached to steel girders in the tunnels connecting the subway beneath Grand Central Station to pump a "Fresh Balsam" blend of vanilla and fresh pine. The campaign, run in collaboration with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, labels the activation an "aroma ad" and a "scentigration" designed to delight consumers and encourage people to experience fragrance wherever they are. Reactions among commuters are mixed, with some saying the scent improves the usual tunnel odor and others likening it to fabric softener. Questions remain about consent, safety of dispersing scents in enclosed transit spaces, and broader acceptability of ambient advertising.
Read at Futurism
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