| Kippreport.com

A Pizza Hut perfume? How odd…

December 5, 2012 9:03 by M. Aldalou

There was a study published in the Journal of Social Psychology last month that concluded that the smell of freshly baked bread triggers positive emotions in our brains and can actually make us kinder to strangers. Researchers at the University of Southern Brittany in France observed that if shoppers are passing a bakery they were more likely to alert a stranger that he or she had dropped a belonging.

Kipp can’t be sure if this study was the motivation behind this next quirky piece of news – and we sure all love the smell of freshly baked Pizza – but now you will too, if you choose to buy Pizza Hut’s new fragrance.

When you first hear about it or tell it to someone sitting next to you, the reaction is guaranteed; confusion, bewilderment and then probably laughter. Make sure to test it later. Still, the quirky bit isn’t that a Pizza company is developing a perfume because quite honestly it makes more sense than 70 percent of celebrities in Hollywood doing so.

The quirky bit is that the perfume is pizza-scented. Yes, your neck, arms and wherever else you usually spray perfume would spell like a freshly made pizza. Of course, it was just a good bit of fun as part of a social engagement initiative led by their creative agency, Grip Limited.

It started out – obviously – as a joke when the company’s community manager posted a Facebook joke about ‘bottling the smell of freshly baked pizza’. The creative agency’s managing director Adam Luck, to our amazement, said that fans reacted instantly to this post and before they knew it, a few thousand people actually responded saying they wanted a bottle.

As far as Kipp can tell, the fragrance is not available for commercial sale but that only 100 lucky (are they?) Canadian fans will receive their very own bottles. Who knows though, if the bottled pizzas prove to be popular we might have a whole continent begging to smell like dough with seasoning.

The company’s director of marketing, Beverly D-Cruz said that the perfume was really made with an intent to entertain. “We discovered it was hard to match the smell of freshly baked bread, but it smells somewhat close,” she said.  One could also spray the perfume around a room to make it smell like pizza, she added.

Still, Kipp is impressed. Not by the smell, creation of the fragrance or their slogan; smell ya later but actually by observing how funny and effective ideas can be created and utilised so well through a simple joke and honest communication on a social media platform.

“It’s becoming a two way conversation instead of a one way download,” said D’Cruz. “Previously it was TV and it was just one way. Now it goes both ways and you’re listening to people and responding.”

*Photo Source

Tags: Marketing gimmick, pizza hut, Pizza Hut Perfume, social media