San Francisco says no to scented advertisements at bus stops

Mumbai: The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has ordered the removal of cookie-smelling advertisements from its bus stops.

The fragrant billboards, displayed at five bus shelters in an effort by dairy producers to make passengers thirsty for milk, were asked to be removed as the shelters' maintenance contractor failed to inform the municipal transportation agency, official sources said.

Moreover, the agency said it also received several complaints from concerned bus riders who feared that the aroma might not be safe.

"What they did not do is consult with anybody at our agency prior to doing that," spokeswoman Maggie Lynch said. "We found out from a reporter. Apparently everybody knew besides us," she added.

The California Milk Processor Board had conceived the "Got Milk?" campaign, which uses food-based oil flavours. The campaign used scent-infused adhesives affixed under bus benches and inside the shelters to attract consumers.