Hide & Seek - Aroma of Fresh Coffee

On the morning of May 29, 2012 I picked up The Times of India to check the headlines and noticed a refreshing aroma of freshly brewed coffee hitting my nostrils. At first I thought someone in the neighbourhood was preparing coffee but I knew very well that it could not be so; from where was the coffee aroma coming from I wondered? I realized that it came from the newspaper I was holding, did someone spill coffee on it? No the aroma emanated from an advertisement of Hide & Seek – Caffé Mocha, a new variant of Parle Hide & Seek biscuits just launched.

How did the coffee aroma get into the press ad? I learnt from Everest Brand Solutions, the ad agency handling the account, that the paper was first
sprayed with the coffee odour and then printed; after that the paper was once again sprayed with the coffee odour. I have known eye-catching ads but this is a case of a ‘nose catching’ ad, the coffee aroma actually directs you to the ad and makes you take notice of it. The reader is also invited to send text messages to indicate if he/she has experienced ‘A delightful coffee aroma today’ and may win an exotic holiday trip for two; perhaps this is to test the effectiveness of the ad.

This press ad reminds me of the talking newspaper in September 2010. The Hide & Seek – Caffé Mocha ad has done all the right things; the wonderful coffee aroma makes you notice the ad and also lets you know what you can expect from the product in terms of taste and smell, although you do not taste anything the smell suggests that the product would taste of coffee. The invitation to send a text message further involves the reader /prospective consumer and I think that this innovation should make people talk about it both at home and elsewhere. In other words an innovative ad like this should attract attention and arouse interest of the consumers; in fact it makes the prospective consumer spend a good deal of time with the ad instead of just looking and flipping through the pages of the newspaper.

I am eager to know as to what kind of effect this ad had on consumers and how Parle plans to follow this up in near future. The ad worked on me, I did buy the product and quite liked the taste.