M&S has unveiled a new “multi-sensorial” takeover of London’s Oxford Circus Tube station using scent, as part of its recently launched summer 2024 campaign.
The push, which was developed in partnership with Mother Design and Mother London, is part of the retailer’s journey to “broaden appeal and elevate style perceptions”.
The campaign includes film, pink vinyl-wrapped floors, blue sky-coloured ceilings and posters spotlighting its summer clothing collection.
In a first for an OOH campaign at Oxford Circus, M&S added the scent of sun cream onto the posters during the production process to add a 360 dynamic to the experience as it called scent a “particularly powerful tool to drive brand recall”.
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The out-of-home ads were created using media owner Global’s Aromaco technology, which is currently exclusive to the London Underground network.
To add the fragrance of sun lotion, aromatic oil was applied during the print process, forming an invisible layer of microscopic bubbles on the surface of the posters.
The Oxford Circus activity is supported by in-store installations, with window displays showcasing the campaign, alongside key products featured in it.
M&S marketing director, clothing and home Anna Braithwaite said: “Summer is a time when our customers are prioritising socialising and making the most of the warmer weather and the lighter evenings. It’s also a time when we want to have a bit of fun with our wardrobe.”
“We want effortless style, versatile pieces for day-to-night dressing and pops of colour to reflect the mood of the season. So, this year we’ve bottled up everything we know our customers love about summer and added a dash of poolside glamour to create a vibrant and infectious campaign serving up style inspiration that will be impossible to miss!”
Mother Design partner and ECD Kirsty Minns added: “Our latest campaign for M&S engages multiple senses to create a more immersive and memorable experience, and as we know from science-backed studies, scent has emerged as a particularly powerful tool in forging emotional connections and brand recall.
“Using the evocative scent of sun lotion, we’re transporting people to the antithesis of the underground – an M&S-inspired summer paradise.”
The installation comes weeks after the retailer released its summer 2024 fashion campaign, created by the same agency.
Focusing on its latest summer womenswear, menswear and kidswear collections, the campaign is set against a series of sunny holiday scenes with models wearing pieces including sequins skirts and embellished dresses.
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