Indian newspapers came out smelling like babies on Wednesday morning. Leading dailies such as The Times of India, The Hindu, Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi turned up at doorsteps with their pages infused with the smell of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) baby powder.
— Johnson & Johnson tries some scented advertising. Read more at J&J ad: Marketers wake up to the draw of sensory branding at Live Mint.
Though it didn’t make the final cut, designers for the newest Xbox One controller reportedly considered a smell feature. At last year’s CES, Game accessory maker SensoryAcumen showed off the unfortunately named GameSkunk, a device that promised to add some flavor to games, such as the pong of gasoline as a Humvee rolls past...GameSkunk also never made it to market.
These early experiments in “smellables” may be part stunt, part speculation, but scent is being mined as a new focal point of interaction for companies looking to break through a cluttered communication environment.
— Read more at Soon your text messages could smell like curry at Quartz.
The Scent Rhythm watch was developed by Aisen Caro Chacin of the Parsons New School for Design. The prototype (it does not appear to be for sale) releases appropriate fragrances (from Demeter!) at intervals based on the body’s circadian cycle…
A seven-week study by the Wheeling Jesuit University Psychology Department showed as students increased their use of a peppermint scented pencil, their Grade Point Averages also increased.
— Read more at Wheeling Jesuit study reveals hidden GPA power in peppermint-scented pencils. Of course, maybe the students that lost the pencils immediately, or just forgot to have them on hand, were just less motivated than those that remembered to use them? But you might want to buy some peppermint Smencils anyway, and you can do so here (they also sell Smencils in a variety of other scents from Kinda Cola to Cinnamon to Bubblegum).
Revlon has launched Revlon Parfumerie, a new line (although not their first) of scented nail polishes. There are 24 scented colors ranging from Wild Violets to Sunlit Grass to Italian Leather to Pink Pineapple to Surf Spray to African Tea Rose. The scent is apparently not evident until the polish is dry on nails…