In today’s world, people are more desensitized than ever before. In fact, 46% of us won’t even feel one positive emotion today. So Glade, an Air Care brand, set out to change all that by reconnecting people with their emotions using technology and the power of scent.

There’s a powerful connection between emotion and scent. In fact, scent can actually change the way we feel. Glade wanted to demonstrate this connection and put it on display with the Museum of Feelings, the first museum that reacted to its visitors’ emotions and turned them into art. Each installation within the museum invited interaction and visually transformed emotions into dynamic digital art. The campaign not only reminded people of the inspiring power of scent, but made people feel again with Glade.

The Museum of Feelings was launched through outdoor and social, teasing the three-week pop-up coming to a trendy New York City neighborhood. The digital experience used technology to evoke and display human emotion. Every inch was alive, data-driven and responsive. Scent-driven exhibits captured each visitor’s unique emotional journey and turned it into art. The exterior was powered by a custom algorithm that displayed the feelings of New York City like a giant mood ring. Inside, emotions were translated into LED lights, a massive kaleidoscope, rings of energy, tranquil clouds and the world’s first living selfie that changed color to reflect the user’s mood. The emotional selfie could also be experienced at home on desktop and mobile device through analysis of the user’s audio or motion input. Only at the end of the experience did we reveal that the Museum of Feelings had been curated by Glade, driving brand reappraisal.

Earned media impressions doubled high goals reaching 892MM+ with over 31,003 total media placements. 58,858 visitors attended; some waiting for over four hours in line, and spent an average of 37 minutes throughout the museum. 44M MoodLens selfies were created onsite and online. The Museum of Feelings experience made the Glade brand a pop-culture phenomenon in NYC. Vanity Fair called it ‘One of the Top Holiday Attractions,’ and it was covered by Vice, Conde Nast Traveler and Fast Company. Days after its launch, our Museum sparked a debate about the evolving nature of museums fed by articles in The Smithsonian and The New York Times. The integrated campaign and immersive digital and analog experience shook the archetype of the cultural institution of museums and gave the world a relevant new way to explore the Glade brand.

The Museum of Feelings was an immersive event that allowed people to explore the connection between emotion and scent. Each installation took visitors on an emotional journey that transformed their feelings into digital art and shareable content. The experience elevated the act of taking a selfie and transformed it into artwork that changed with emotion. Word got out about the Museum and soon people were lining up outside its doors. Sometimes waiting for hours. In the rain. The Museum of Feelings sparked a conversation about the nature of museums, and allowed people to experience Glade in a whole new way.

We knew that as much as Millennials love experiences and their associated social currency, taking the same photo as 10,000 others is only so interesting. And in an overflowing sea of content, advertising messages are completely lost or even blocked. The brand needed a more relevant way to reach skeptical Millennials in an age of media abundance and attention scarcity. So we tapped into their underlying needs by creating an experience that’s uniquely custom - using visitor’s own emotion as data inputs, counter-culture – making the high-brow institution of museums widely approachable and multi-sensorial - translating our message of emotion shifting scent into a medium in itself. Only after users experienced first-hand that scents could spark feelings like energy, joy and optimism, was it revealed that the new-age experience was by the 60-year-old brand, Glade. The goal was a complete brand reframe that Millennials didn’t just hear or see but felt.

We needed to breathe new life into the aging 60-year old Glade brand by offering the public a new way to experience the brand and core product, fragrance. To prove, first hand, fragrance evokes emotions, we built a museum curated by scent and invited our Millennial target to step inside and turn their feelings into art.