What does Michigan smell like in the summertime? For years, the answer might have depended on who you asked—perhaps the briny tang of the lake, the sweetness of wildflowers, or even the earthy notes wafting from vineyards. Now, Michigan hopes to bottle that essence and entice travelers with it. On August 17, 2025, the state’s Pure Michigan tourism campaign introduced a new summer fragrance called Fresh, aiming to capture the spirit of Michigan’s coastlines, flowers, and vineyards in a $32 bottle. It’s a novel approach to tourism marketing, and reactions from the public have been as varied as the state’s own landscapes.
According to NPR, the campaign is the latest in a series of creative strategies to boost Michigan’s tourism industry. In the past, the state has leaned on scented candles and memorable advertisements—some voiced by actor Tim Allen, who famously intoned, “The perfect summer has a voice. If we listen close enough, we can hear it.” This time, though, they’re hoping that a spritz of perfume can do what words and images sometimes can’t: evoke a visceral, emotional connection to Michigan summers.
Colin Jackson of the Michigan Public Radio Network took the fragrance, aptly named Fresh, to the Detroit riverfront to see what people made of it. Jazz Calvin, one of the first to try it, was enthusiastic. “Ooh, it’s a very refreshing smell. Almost like it puts you in the field of, like, spring coming in the summer. I like it,” Calvin said, as reported by NPR. Others, like beachgoer Joanne Adams, were a bit more skeptical. “Total cynic. I don’t see how a scent is going to bring anybody that doesn’t want to come anyway,” Adams admitted. But as more locals and visitors sampled the fragrance, the mood shifted from doubt to curiosity—and, in some cases, delight.
Sunrazalay DeSano and Evelina Ameyaw, lounging in the sun, offered their own take. “I wouldn’t say it smells expensive, but it smells welcoming, if that makes sense,” DeSano observed. Ameyaw agreed, adding, “It is very welcoming. It smells more like, hey, come on, be around here. But it’s not so, like, boisterous.” Lakeia Smith, reading in the shade, couldn’t help but laugh as she remarked, “I say this smells better than the Michigan smell. If we can get Michigan to smell like this, that’ll be beautiful.”
The mastermind behind the fragrance is Tanya Thompson, owner of The Aroma Labs, a Kalamazoo-based chain where customers can design their own custom scents. Thompson explained her process to NPR: “We have a lot of lavender. When you get an opportunity to go to the beach, there’s a lot of wineries offered.” She emphasized the science behind scent’s power to transport and persuade. “Scent, in a very sophisticated way, impacts your prefrontal cortex. There’s actually an olfactory bulb in there—mood, memory, emotion.”
Pure Michigan’s Vice President, Kelly Wolgamott, described the campaign’s intent: “We really wanted it to replicate the air of a freshwater coastline, being on a summer beach day, being in the wineries. Just that fresh feeling that you have when you travel in Pure Michigan in the summer.” The team didn’t stop at just bottling the perfume. They transformed it into a scratch-and-sniff feature in travel magazines. “That just really provided us, from a marketing standpoint, to showcase Michigan in a different way in a print publication versus just a static print ad. We have this now interactive piece within,” Wolgamott explained.
It’s all part of a broader, ambitious marketing push. Pure Michigan said the fragrance initiative was included in a $14 million budget of state and other funds for promoting Michigan this season. While the specific cost of the perfume partnership wasn’t disclosed, it’s clear that the state is willing to invest in unusual ideas to keep Michigan top-of-mind for travelers.
And there’s more to come. The summer scent, Fresh, is only the beginning. According to NPR, Pure Michigan plans to roll out a fall fragrance named Harvest and a winter version called First Snow, each designed to evoke the unique aromas of Michigan’s changing seasons. The campaign also suggests travel spots that pair well with the scents—like Belle Isle beach in Detroit, an island in the river between Detroit and Canada, where the perfume was road-tested by passersby amid the haze of Canadian wildfires and the cries of seagulls.
Jessica Hamilton, a visitor from New York, was one of those who found herself unexpectedly drawn in. “I would definitely want to be there, wherever that is, because it’s very clean and refreshing,” she said.
The idea of using scent to market a destination isn’t entirely new, but Michigan’s approach is unusually comprehensive. By targeting the senses—and especially the often-overlooked sense of smell—the campaign aims to create a lasting bond between travelers and the state. “The campaign’s goal is to create an emotional connection through scent to increase tourist interest,” reported Michigan Public Radio Network. Scientific research supports this approach: the olfactory system is directly linked to parts of the brain responsible for memory and emotion, making scent a powerful trigger for nostalgia and longing.
Of course, not everyone is convinced that a perfume can sway travel plans. Adams’s skepticism is echoed by others who wonder whether a pleasant fragrance is enough to draw visitors from afar. Yet, as the diverse reactions along the Detroit riverfront showed, the power of scent to evoke mood and curiosity shouldn’t be underestimated. Even those who doubted the campaign’s effectiveness found themselves smiling after a sniff.
Michigan’s tourism officials hope that, by bottling the feeling of a summer day on the lake or a stroll through a vineyard, they can offer would-be visitors a sensory preview of what awaits. It’s a bold experiment in marketing, blending science, art, and a dash of whimsy. Whether the campaign will boost tourism numbers remains to be seen, but it’s certainly making people talk—and take notice.
With plans for seasonal expansions and interactive magazine features, Michigan is betting that a whiff of nostalgia and the promise of fresh air can cut through the noise of traditional travel marketing. For now, the scent of summer is just a spray away, and the state is ready to welcome anyone whose curiosity—or nose—leads them north.