By Andrew Liszewski
A company in Japan called Recruit Co Ltd. is using a unique system to lure people into the restaurants and cafes in the underground mall of the Tokyo Station. Developed by NTT Communications Corp. the system emits appetizing aromas that correspond to a video advertisement being shown on a 42-inch LCD display. The idea is that passers-by will be attracted by the smells, wander over to the kiosk to watch the advertisements, and then take a coupon book which will hopefully bring them into the restaurants. My only experience with artificial scents is the scratch n’ sniff stickers I had in grade school, and as I recall the only ones that didn’t make me wretch in disgust were strawberries and grapes. So maybe (and hopefully) artificial scent technologies have come a long way since then.
This seems like what Disney uses for a couple attractions at the parks – Soarin’ and Philharmagic. Those smells are only fruity though, it would be interesting to smell something like steak :p Smart thing for a restaurant to do!!