A "sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, and the natural smell of a salted, wheat-based dough" reads like a description on the back of a wine label.
It's actually the description of the "unique scent of Play-Doh" as filed by toy giant Hasbro in a recent trade mark application.
In 2015, in celebration of Play-Doh's 50th birthday, Hasbro issued a "just-out-of-the-can, eau de Play-Doh aroma intended for highly-creative people, who seek a whimsical scent reminiscent of their childhood." The celebratory perfume campaign was scheduled for a one year run. But apparently a year wasn't long enough and Hasbro wants it to become a forever thing.
A history of strange trademarks
The first scent successfully trademarked in the United States was in 1990 by OSEWEZ for their blossom-scented embroidery thread.
Some of the few registered scent trademarks currently recognised by the US Patent Office include Strawberry toothbrushes and 'Fuel Fragrances' - engine lubricants designed to make car exhausts aromatic. Yes you read that right.
Emojis have also been trademarked, with Apple obtaining the rights for their own emoji set - which means, if you want to promote 'The Emoji Movie' using Apple emojis, you would need to get Apple's direct approval 😞💔.
And who could forget the 'Seinfeld' plot where Kramer pitches a perfume to Calvin Klein that allows the wearer to smell like the beach? While Kramer was rejected before later having his idea stolen by the same company, perfumer Christopher Brosius actually released a fragrance called 'The Beach 1966' in 2005, allowing the wearer the chance to smell "as if you've been swimming all day in the ocean."
What a weird and wonderful world trademark law is.
