Imagine — in the Before Times — your date takes you back to their place. They dim the lamps, turn on Marvin Gaye, and light candles that smell like a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder.
These are situations we have to prepare for now. For reasons that may only be clear to Ronald McDonald and Colonel Sanders, fast-food brands are going big on fragrances:
- This week, KFC debuted a new line of $60 Crocs that look — and smell — like fried chicken. And in 2016, the brand gave out chicken-scented candles to New Zealand fans.
- Burger King held a one-day sale of “Flame-Grilled Fragrance” in Japan on April 1, 2015 — for ~$41.
- In 2012, 110 lucky fans got free “Eau de Pizza Hut” perfume, which smelled like “hand-tossed” dough.
It’s a pretty genius marketing tactic: Nothing gets people to order a breadstick-crust pizza quite like smelling it all day.
