Percy the Porcupine

Percy the Porcupine, also known as Percy Porcupine, was the mascot of a promotional campaign active in London in 2006. The character took the shape of a cartoon porcupine. The campaign handed out scratchcards to shoppers, with no restriction on how many could be given away. Winning scratchcards could be redeemed for prizes at a booth. Although Londoners such as Jackie Tyler believed the Percy campaign to be a test promotion, in actuality, the campaign was masterminded by the Quevvils, an alien species which resembled porcupines, as they sought to recruit humans as soldiers in their war against the Mantodeans, with which they shared the planet Toop. The prizes given out allowed for the recruitment of humans as "controllers" via the video game Death to Mantodeans, and as "carriers" who were controlled to do the actual fighting via supposed holiday packages.

Percy was represented by a photograph of a Quevvil on the campaign posters, which caused Rose Tyler to comment that the campaign looked cheaply done. This design, as well as the anatomical structure of the Quevvils, led the Ninth Doctor to quickly deduce that the porcupine mascot was an image of a real alien instead of a human in costume. (PROSE: Winner Takes All)