Smell-o-rama fans rejoice: Scratch N’Sniff outdoor is finally here.

Local agency Goodby Silverstein snagged a generous amount of PR for long-time "Got Milk" client, the California Milk Board with five aromatic billboards in San Francisco.

"Vanilla-y,” one woman said as she walked past the shelter. 

"Cherry undertones  —  and waxy,” said another woman standing inside. 

"These don’t smell anything like cookies my mom baked,” said a teenager. 

"It smells like my kid’s lunch pail,” said one man. He walked away before
he could say whether that smell was pleasing or offensive.

Louis Zafonte, vice president of Arcade Marketing, the company that
manufactures the scent strips that are affixed to the bus shelters, speaks like
a mix of preacher, scientist, therapist and businessman when he talks about
scent.

"Scent is a primary driver of memory,” he said. "It can trigger wonderful
memories.” 

The strips, no larger than a typical adult’s hand, have been strategically
placed throughout five bus shelters in the Union Square, Financial District and
Nob Hill neighborhoods. The aroma is expected to last a week or two before it
will have to be replaced. Zafonte said the cost is about $25 per shelter. 

Read the full story on SF Gate here.

Elf me. I’m a sweet little Xmas elf.

Click through. Add photo. Send dancing elfish self to pals.

This will be huge.

See the new viral promo from OfficeMax.

[That’s the perpetually optimistic Mortar DCS Renny Diiulio sporting the elfish suit BTW].

Remember our post about Rozerem, the sleep aid ads that feature Abe Lincoln and a talking Beaver? See Leave it to Beavers.

The Journal reports that the makers, Takeda Pharmaceutical, have increased monthly Rozerem sales by 66% from $6.5 million in July , 2006 to $10.5 million in October, 2006.

Now the Journal is to be commended for churning out 1,000 words without pausing for a moment to consider the significance of men dreaming of chatty beavers.

But they do find time to mention that the Cramer-Krasselt-designed spots briefly show a deep-sea diver doing the dishes.

Interestingly, Takeda admits that consumers have to see the spot "six to nine" times for the information to sink in.

Although one can imagine that the sleep-deprived won’t need anywhere near as many impressions to be encouraged to ask their doc about the drug. 

Full story here.

File this under "Nothing is safe":

"A glowing green logo drawn by scientists on the wing of a genetically altered butterfly could herald the day that the insects are adorned with adverts and slogans.

A team at the University at Buffalo that developed the world’s first GM butterfly has now adapted the work to create the fluorescent marking on the wings of the insect to demonstrate an innovative tool that will make it easier to find out what genes do, in this case those that play a role in making the patterns on wings, from stripes to eye spots.

The researchers demonstrated their method by using a laser to stencil the silhouette of a butterfly upon the surface of a butterfly’s wing."

Seen on Adrants and Daily Telegraph.