Napster Sets the Stage for a Comeback with Daring Kitty

It's a good thing cats have nine lives, because the Napster Kitty now only has eight and is likely to lose several more if the first episode in an animated series in any indication.

It's a new viral marketing campaign, at www.napsterbits.com, with a "send to a friend" button under the Flash animation episode designed to generate mystery and buzz around Napsters imminent return as a legitimate online music service by March 2004.

In the first episode, Kitty escapes from jail down a length of knotted sheets only to shimmy back up to retrieve the headphones it forgot hanging on its bedpost. As Kitty begins its final decent it is apparently shot by a guard before reaching the ground.

Neither Napster nor its advertising agency, Venables, Bell and Partners, San Francisco, which helped produce the animations, were talking. However word on the news wires is that the campaign aims to reinforce Napster's "hipster" image as a famous music file-sharing service. (Kitty's face is the only image appearing at the Napster.com home page and links to the episodes).

In July 2001, Napster was shut down by a series of copyright infringement lawsuits. Digital media company Roxio, Inc. purchased the assets of Napster last year.

No word on when the next episode runs.