For Peugeot, Giant Cats Prowl an Awesome Model Town

And their engines really purr

Brands are going big in 2026. First, we saw outsized metaphors ranging from ginormous calculators to humongous shoes. Now we get colossal kittens hyping Peugeot on an impressively detailed city set.

One hopes they’d run amok and scratch up the scenery or bat some humans around with their paws. Instead, they play with the tiny props and act cute. They’re fluffy stand-ins for tame cars that lack the bite and roar of the Peugeot 308, we’re told.

“There’s obviously inspiration from the old, iconic Peugeot campaigns like ‘Toys’ or ‘Felines,’” Quentin Garabedian, who co-directed the new spot with Julien Martorell through production house Hamlet, tells Muse. “We wanted to create this big contrast through a metaphoric world where all the cars are kittens while the lion [a Peugeot] awakens from the shadows. The big cats are slow, a bit clunky, funny and contrast with the elegance and power of the car.”

Conceptually, it’s a bit of a stretch. But … kittens!

Naturally, working with live animals can pose challenges on set.

“You need to be patient and pray for the cats to do what you expect,” says Martorell. “We had plenty of cats ready, so if we couldn’t get the action we wanted with one, we tried with another, then another, until eventually it worked.”

“The funny thing is, we achieved quite quickly the most complicated action with the cats, while just making them walk in a straight line took ages.”

CGI would have been simpler, but “we were convinced that people would be much more touched if they saw real kittens,” he adds. “And we wanted this model city to look like a real city—with imperfections and details that are impossible to build on that scale.”

“So, in post production we enhanced this model city and a big part was done with a combination of AI and compositing. This process allowed us to blend everything and create a world that feels tangible.”

For more insights into how the :60 came together—and added kitty cuteness—here’s a BTS reel:

The European campaign drops this week across TV, press, digital, print and CRM.

CREDITS

Production: Hamlet
Directors: Julien & Quentin
DOP: Steve Annis
Executive Producers: Clément Martorell, Jason Felstead, Ruben Goots
Line producer: Gilles Pinaudeau
Production coordinator : Manon Letorey
Production Design : Andrew Clark
1st AD : Franck Percher
Post producer : Chloé Juillard

Service production: Hexagon
Executive Producer PL: Arnaud Le Mene
Line Producer PL: Andrzej Cichocki
Production Design PL: Ola Żurawska and Katarzyna Filimoniuk
Animal handlers: Bartek Gadziomski & Karolina Labes

Post-Production by Monumental
Head of Post-Production: Laïla Hamdaoui
VFX Creative Directors: Mathieu Jussreandot & Eddy Choppy
Post-Producer: Célestine Gonzalez
Post-Production Coordinator: Ruben Rigodiat-Calciati
VFX Production Manager: Clémence Mange
Editor: Vincent Fleischmann & Léo Gatelier
Colorist: Gabriel Porier
VFX Supervisor on set: Greg Boccucci
Compositing: Thomas Jouenne