There’s a scary marketing tactic technologies like the Madeleine scentography camera can usher in if it ever goes mainstream. Picture receiving a dainty little capsule by mail from a company, a brand so well known no one would think twice about breaking open that ‘advertising pod’ and taking a whiff of what lies inside.
Imagine opening that bit of post at the breakfast table or while watching TV after supper. If McRibs or cronuts were advertised like this, would even the most discerning foodie be able to resist the temptation of driving out to grab a bite? We know we would be writhing in the throes of hunger until we’d laid our hands on a tasty treat if food chains ever decided to hit so low below the belt, or just above it, we might say.
The point is that such technology is just waiting to be exploited and one Amy Radcliffe has now come out with the Madeleine, a camera of sorts which captures scents instead of photos. The moniker is derived from Marcel Proust’s seven-volume French novel, À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time), which explores involuntary memory invoked by biting into a piece of Madeleine cake. Radcliffe talks about being able to manipulate our emotional state through ‘prescribed nostalgia,’ a term that inspires paranoia in our heads.
Described as an analogue odor camera, the Madeleine takes cues from perfumery technology classified as Headspace Capture. A dome-like structure is placed over an object which gives out the fragrance that is to be captured. A combination of inert gases, absorbent material and so on is used to trap the molecular data of the smell. This information is then sent to a lab to be analyzed. The final process involves converting the collected molecules into smell memory capsules.
Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Perfume and food companies aren’t the only industries that could make the best use of this technology. We can see travel and tourism brands bewitching folks with the smell of pristine beaches, beautiful rainforests and more. But we wouldn’t trust our closest pals to not send us the scent of cat litter in a capsule labeled ‘Pizzalicious’ if the Madeleine reaches consumer markets.