Marketing

Smelly ad campaign draws negative consumer response

Photo: coward_lion - stock.adobe.com

March 24, 2026

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A quest to spritz the scent of chocolate as part of an ad campaign in King's Cross station in London didn't go over well with transit commuters.

Pretty much the feedback for the Magnum Ice Cream brand drew icks, according to a New York Times report.

The two-week marketing effort also included a "crackling" noise meant to sound like a person biting into one of the brand's ice cream bars.

"I hate it," Melvyn Yap, who commutes through the station twice a day, told the news outlet. "The first time I passed through, I thought, 'What is that? Is there a big urine spill?'"

Commuter complaints increased to the point where the station manager was forced to investigate and the brand turned down the power of the chocolate spritz.

"Turns out Londoners have opinions, and we respect that," Magnum said on Instagram. "We reckon it still beats Eau de Tube."

Marketing