Ad of the Day | In a City of Cute Kittens, The Peugeot Lion Roars Awakens for the new 308

Jan. 12, 2026

Peugeot has launched the new 308 with a playful new European campaign. Set in a city where every car is a kitten, the campaign introduces the new Peugeot 308 as the lion who awakens - and rises to reign as the true king of the kingdom.

The campaign features a 60-second hero film titled ‘Kittens’, featuring a litter of cute, loveable kittens used as a bold visual metaphor. The cast highlights a simple but powerful idea: in a city where every car is a kitten, the new Peugeot 308 sets itself apart as a lion - confident, commanding, and unmistakably dominant.

Directed by Julien & Quentin through international production company HAMLET, "Kittens" nods to the specialist skill of handcrafted production design. The film was shot entirely in camera on a handmade miniature city set created by local artists with a cast of 30 kittens!

Each kitten in the film symbolizes a car from a competing brand, going about its daily routine. We follow the kittens emerging from a garage after a night’s rest, stuck in a tedious motorway jam, waiting at traffic lights - all familiar daily journeys through the city. 

Then, the new Peugeot 308 is revealed. It ruffles some fur, disrupts the status quo, and roars into life - gliding effortlessly through the city streets.

Julien Martorell, once half of directing duo Julien & Quentin commented:

“It’s always a pleasure to receive a brief built around a simple, powerful idea. From the start, our main approach was a bit of a gamble but one that felt absolutely essential to us: to work with real kittens. The ones who do silly things online, the cute ones, the ones who have that indescribable quality you simply can’t fake. We built all the sets in Poland at cat scale, and shot the car scenes in Warsaw. The level of detail and care brought by our art department in crafting these miniature sets was incredible. And then… we had to be patient and let our furry actors do their thing. (Or not do it !) To blur the lines even further, we also enhanced the film using post-production and AI tools. A real foundation first, then details that would have been impossible to achieve by hand alone. We’re proud to have explored this process that brings out the best of both worlds. In the end, nothing will ever replace starting from real life, from real things. That’s the very essence of what we do.”

 

The campaign is running across TV, press, digital, print and CRM channels across Europe.

The new Peugeot 308 is available to buy in the Spring.