Bus Riders and Invasive Advertising

Public transportation users may be accustomed to an odd smell from time to time, but bus riders in Seoul, South Korea, were recently exposed to a different league of olfactory input. Devices installed on public buses in that city were programmed to release a coffee-like fragrance whenever the Dunkin' Donuts jingle played over bus speakers. Upon exiting the bus, riders would see Dunkin' Donuts billboards and Dunkin' Donuts stores. As The Atlantic's Megan Garber notes, the campaign worked. Sales at Dunkin' Donuts outlets near those bus stops increased 29 percent earlier this year.

Garber writes: