Blast from the past...

I was getting ready to go out with a group of my closest friends the other weekend. Amongst the fluster of clothes, make-up sprawled over every available surface of the room, fake tan smothered skin and heating straighteners, the air suddenly filled with the amazing smell of CK One. I was instantly transported back to 2002, to a family holiday on the Greek island of Kos. I could picture where I was, what I was wearing, I could feel the golden sunshine on my skin, hear the waves lapping along the shore and the laughter that filled the air. I felt once again the overwhelming feeling of happiness I had felt on that holiday, all those years ago.

I came back to reality just as quickly as I had left. In such a small fraction of time I had been transported to what I thought had been a distant memory, all because of a smell that I had unconsciously associated with that holiday. I was astonished at how this perfume had been so powerful at playing with and affecting my mind.

It emphasised for me how influenced we are by our surroundings; how our senses are able to interact with out conscious and unconscious minds on levels we cannot always anticipate. I could not help but link this to today's media industry, specifically the control that advertising can have on its audience. Whether by using a song, a picture, a celebrity or a colour (but to name a few examples) in a similar way to the perfume I smelt that day, these factors can deliberately become powerful tools of emotional stimulation, and when used really well, can make an advert one that can never be forgotten.