X/@mcdonaldsjapan
The fast food chain’s Japanese subsidiary on the social network “X” has announced the upcoming release of a line of perfumes with the smell of fried potatoes, in three olfactory versions. A real olfactory project or a marketing operation? The press service answered us.
“We made a perfume that smells like potatoes. Please come on the release day.” With more than 21.8 million views, the message quickly went viral on X (formerly Twitter). This announcement posted on the official account of the Japanese branch of McDonald’s was accompanied by an equally strange promotional visual. The ad actually reveals a female face applying perfume in a bottle of the fast food chain’s famous red potato wrapper. Two other bottles are mostly inspired by food packaging, one filled with pink juice and the other with brown juice.
according to the translation of 20 minutes , the poster offers three different flavors using ingredients from its fries recipes. From the menu, the classic “salty macfries”, “sea salt and nori plum” or even “garlic and black pepper mayonnaise”, the aroma of Shaka Shaka fries, sold exclusively in the country. from the rising sun. The question you need to ask yourself now is, do you really want the smell of fried…
A joke or a genius marketing move?
Is this a prank orchestrated by the brand’s community manager ahead of April Fools’ Day or a genuine claim? Contacted Madame FigaroThe press service of McDonald’s Japan answered these questions. Verdict: “This image posted on X was shared as part of our limited time flavored potato promotion. We wanted people to appreciate the aromas and flavors of the fries,” they tell us, before clarifying, much to the chagrin of those eager to get their hands on them; “These flavors are neither manufactured nor sold.” Which didn’t stop the company from succeeding in its marketing efforts, creating buzz on social media.
Fast food and cosmetics
However, this wouldn’t be the first time that McDonald’s tried its hand at this kind of atypical creation on the path between the food and beauty realms. Indeed, the brand made a splash in the UK earlier this year by teaming up with London-based Nails.inc to design the essentials for seductive manicures, including ‘ketchup’ colored nail polish or ‘fry-fry’ fake nails.
As for the olfactory register, in 2020, a McDonald’s spin-off site in the United States already launched candles scented with the ingredients of its famous “royal cheese” (bread, ketchup, pickles, cheese, onion or beef). ) a successful operation, as the candle range was sold out after it went on sale, according to Forbes: . The idea has even already been exploited by its competitors, notably KFC in the United Kingdom in 2019, which launched a “fried chicken” scented candle. In 2015, Burger King’s Japanese subsidiary also created a “grilled beef” flavored cologne from their popular Whooper sandwich, according to an Associated Press press release.
Source: Le Figaro
