Bus shelter posters could speak volumes for Felix

Interactive poster ads for Felix catfood will “miaow” at consumers if brand owner Quaker decides to introduce them to bus shelters later this year.

The company has been considering the scheme for a number of months. It is thought to be planning a May launch in Scotland.

It is not yet clear how the posters will operate, but they could be activated using much the same techniques as those used in car alarms when people enter the bus shelter.

If the poster is triggered by movement then it is unlikely to be able to discriminate between people and animals. Dogs could be some of the first victims.

Over the past two years, Felix has spent an increasing proportion of its ad expenditure on poster campaigns through BMP DDB Needham. In 1992, it spent nothing on posters. By 1994 it was spending 22 per cent of its budget on outdoor advertising.

The total ad spend for Felix has fallen in the past two years, from ú3.5m in 1992 to ú2.8m last year.

Felix is one of Quaker’s success stories, taking nearly 22 per cent of the market by volume last year (Nielsen) compared with under ten per cent in 1990. Its main competitors are Whiskas, with about 31 per cent, and Arthurs with ten per cent of the market.