The advertisements we encounter in our daily lives are quite one dimensional. They ramble on and on about the benefits of choosing a specific product or service and are presented on a more or less take it or leave it basis. Kind of boring isn’t it? No wonder we tune out so many of them. Well what if they could become more than just static, one dimensional ads? According to AdFreak, British company Mint Digital has created a device that emits specific smells in accordance with your internet activity. Although this is a relatively new product that still needs further modifications, imagining this technology being applied to advertisements gives marketers an endless array of possibilities!

I am aware that there are advanced advertising technology being used in airports around the world which consists of a screen that modifies the specific advertisements for the person in front of the screen by using face detection. Now take it one step further. Imagine a mother of four, being shown an advertisement on limited edition holiday baked goods, and suddenly a waft of freshly baked gingerbread cookies emits from nozzles behind the monitor. I for one would immediately find myself scouting for the nearest bakery around!

Of course, that is simply my suggestion, and not to say that this would ever become reality. The device currently only emits one smell per notification, and as AdFreak explained, it is far from being interactive. With that in mind though, technology is constantly evolving, and who knows what will happen in the next decade or two? I personally would love to see smell being integrated into advertising further, and go beyond the perfume samples in magazines. I’m sure even if that isn’t the case, some brilliant marketer somewhere will come up with something amazing and innovation nonetheless sometime soon!