» Printing

Scented postage stamps growing in popularity

airsense — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:03:29 +0000

A philatelic blogger has done an interesting review of scented stamps across the world during the past few decades. I can’t believe I missed the news that China’s 2007 Year of the Pig stamp smelled like sweet and sour pork!

It’s well worth checking out: Stamps of Distinction

And there’s another interesting article about scented stamps at Linns.com

DirecTV ads give a whiff of rubber

airsense — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:07:09 +0000

DirecTV’s been doing an ad campaign featuring scratch-n-sniff rubber scent. The ads, promoting DirecTV’s NASCAR channel, have been distributed as standalone mailers and as 4-page inserts in various magazines, including Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine and NASCAR Scene. Reviews of the campaign are mixed. According to one blogger, it smells like the soft drink aisle of a Kroger supermarket (I don’t know whether or not he was aware that Kroger uses a scenting system from ScentAndrea) . MediaCreativity’s editor was overwhelmed with the scent of rubber long before scratching the little box. Read more at MediaCreativity

Rose-scented newspapers well received

airsense — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:55:03 +0000

Hoping to “put a little romance in the air” last Valentine’s day, Australia’s mX newspaper came scented like roses. No scratch-n-sniff activation required, just rose-scented ink throughout the paper. mX is a free daily paper distributed in the three major urban centers of the country. The mX plans to try other scents, including coffee, fruit and mint. According to NewsSpace, the scented issue was well-received by both readers and advertisers.

Scented ads win award

airsense — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:11:18 +0000

The technology of Odorama-style scratch-n-sniff has definitely grown by leaps and bounds. New Hampshire-based printing company Concord Litho recently won an award for advertising printed with “scented varnish.” The award-winning magazine insert, which appeared in TV Guide, was a companion card for a special “Laugh ‘n Sniff” episode of NBC comedy show “My Name is Earl.” The card featured fragrances that were released when rubbed, including scents of clean laundry, Oreo, cinnamon buns, buttered popcorn, “new car smell,” and stinky men’s cologne. The scents were delivered using “scented varnish,” non-toxic inks that contained scented oils produced by Scentisphere. According to Concord Litho, the scented varnish is superior to previous incarnations of scratch-n-sniff because it remains dormant until it’s intentionally activated by rubbing it, and can be reactivated over and over. The award, in the category of heat-set web printing, was given by the International Association of Printing House Craftsmen (IAPHC), an international trade association for the printing and graphic arts industry.

Incidentally, folks interested in learning more about printing with scented varnish should check out Concord Litho’s web site for their “Printing with Scented Varnish Idea Kit,” as well as their Scented Varnish Gallery.

Further details:

Flavored ad in today’s People Mag

airsense — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:35:00 +0000

If you happen to see a copy of People Magazine today, look for the 2-page ad for Welch’s grape juice. What you’ll find is a step above scratch-n-sniff: a peel-off sticker that reveals an actual flavor sample. You just have to lick it.

The flavor strip is made out of pullulan, a kind of film matrix with the flavor trapped inside. The ad covers both sides of the page, so you won’t be licking any residual ink from the other side. Apparently the sticker won’t re-seal itself, so there’s no danger of licking an ad already licked by someone else.

Still, I can’t help but think of the fact that the only time I ever look at People Magazine is at the germ factory known as the doctor’s office…

LA Times rolls out first-ever scented-ink advertisement

airsense — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 23:32:00 +0000

The LA Times, the largest metropolitan newspaper in the US, announced that this Sunday’s paper will feature the first-ever ad using scented ink. The ad, promoting the film “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium,” will smell like frosted cake, and appear in the September 9th Fall Movie Sneaks section. The ad will feature areas of soy-based ink that emit the frosted-cake aroma when scratched. The aroma is meant to engage readers in a new way, and to remind them to “be young and have fun.” The innovative ad campaign is a boon at a time when print media everywhere is struggling to find new ways to keep readers in an increasingly internet-based information era. The movie, directed by Zach Helm and starring Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman, opens in US theatres on November 16.Read more at CNN Money, the LA Times and BloggingStocks

US newspapers to run scented advertising

airsense — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 23:54:00 +0000

American newspapers USA Today and The Wall Street Journal are getting ready to run scratch-and-sniff ads that use scented ink. Scent capsules will get put into the printing press, eliminating the need to print the scented advertisements separately from the rest of the paper. This technology makes scented print ads more affordable to advertisers wishing to take advantage of olfactory marketing possibilities. More about this can be seen at the Press Gazette.