After starring in the The Metro last year with a series of contextual print ads linked to coverage of major cultural moments, Felix – the loveable, long-running brand mascot for Britain’s biggest selling cat food brand – is poised to spring into 2026 in serious style.
The new ‘Pouncing on Moments’ campaign sees Felix getting back to his mischievous self to drive cultural relevance for the brand. Always accompanied by the strapline ‘It’s great to be a cat’ – a nod to all the cheeky, character-filled felines of Britain – the monochrome maestro is taking centre stage in a series of executions where impudent cat behaviours are tied to moments in popular culture.
While the campaign will run throughout 2026 and will touch on a host of different cultural moments, Felix’s first target is Harry Styles – and the star’s much hyped One Night Only concert in Manchester.
Three different executions have appeared on eight digital out of home sites across the city, including flagship placements at Piccadilly Gardens and the Arndale Centre. On the day of the gig, the same creatives will also appear on a fleet of six, single sided large-scale Digivans that will circle Co-op Live, drawing the attention of concert goers before and after the show.
Each of the creatives, which have been devised by COW, show Felix doing or having done cheeky, real cat behaviours, and all riff on Harry Styles songs or tropes. Like his penchant for feather boas.
One ad shows Felix on a sofa, playing with a cushion with feathers flying everywhere. The accompanying copy reads ‘Like Harry, Loves Feathers’, while a second plays on the name of a track, ‘Aperture’, from Styles’ new album. It shows Felix being tickled behind his ear and the copy simply reads ‘Apurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrture’.
Returning to feathers, the third ad hints at cats’ natural instincts. Felix is shown in the centre of the frame, licking his lips, with feathers falling from his mouth and strewn across the ground in front of him. Playing on a lyric from Harry Styles’ 2022 global smash hit ‘As It Was’, the copy reads ‘Not the same as it was’, a suggestive line that allows the viewer to fill in the gaps.
The Harry Styles creatives are being supported across the Purina Felix shared channels, with humorous short form content tied to the ads playing out across the brand’s TikTok and Facebook channels.
Commenting on the new Pouncing on Moments campaign Issy Smithson, part of the Brand team at Felix said;
“This is going to be a big year for Felix – both the brand and our cherished mascot, as we bring Felix’s signature mischief to the heart of cultural conversations. I can’t wait for people to see the ads, share them, and celebrate the most mischievous cat of them all”.
Media buying for the campaign has been handled by OpenMindMedia.
