Aussie’s best loved pest Louie the Fly takes to the road in bid for 250,000 votes to save himself
Louie the Fly isn’t ready to give up his 54 year starring role in the Mortein TV ads just yet.
Aussie’s best loved pest is to head on a three month nationwide campaign tour to woo fans after Mortein set Louie a target of 250,000 public votes to save himself and keep his job. The ‘loveable larrikin’ kicked off his bid outside Parliament House in Canberra over the weekend.
People can vote to kill or save Louie the Fly either at his Facebook page or at the tour locations themselves via ballot machine. Since Mortein announced it would reconsider its decision to kill him off from its TV ads, Louie has lost no time generating support. His Facebook site has become one of the most active and popular in Australia with more than 117,000 ‘Likes’ and is receiving over 1000 fans a day. But the key for Louie is to turn those fans into votes. He already has three times the fans of current AFL champions Geelong and he has almost twice the ‘Likes’ of the current NRL champions the Manly Sea Eagles.
To drum up support for himself, Louie the Fly will embark on his campaign across Australia visiting shopping centres, town squares, beaches and other popular hangouts across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland to help drive votes. Friends of Louie will be able to meet the popular Mortein mascot and have their photo taken with him, as well as take away limited edition Louie the Fly memorabilia.
Says Louie: “I may live on a rubbish tip but I am not ready for the scrap heap. I am prepared to press the flesh, kiss babies and all of that, whatever it takes. My target is a tough one so I might even wash. I have been around for over 50 years; I am confident that my fans will back me all the way.”
Mortein has said that if the target number of votes to save Louie isn’t reached by the end of the campaign period that they will stand by their decision to kill Louie off for good. Those who wish to see Louie “die another day” are invited to cast their votes at louiethefly.com.au
21 Comments
Whatever.
Wolf!
me smells a case study in the making, ‘…..and so the entire population of australia united and a national icon was saved!’ And the ECD of the advertising agency, who’d spent months honing his case study, forgetting to shower or even nip to the loo was eaten alive by an infestation of Little Louies, but he didn’t care, for it picked up a bronze somewhere in Asia or Bulgaria.
Instead of trying to censor comments on ad blogs, the Communications Council should be trying to censor this kind of transparent marketing bullshit that treats people like morons.
Just sayin’.
Please, can everyone vote that we’d like to see Louie killed off and so we don’t want him save and have to suffer another decade or two of this out of date advertising crap.
why target only 250,000?
I think they have pushed it too far. It’s pretty obvious Louie will live to Fly another day!
Given the publicity and TV campaign is 117000 likes on facebook considered a success? Does this translate to sales of the can? I don’t know I’m asking? How many likes does it take for a success? Do facebook user’s purchase fly spray? Now I’m a Manly tragic and but I don’t like em on facebook.
I thought the point of the product was to kill flies. 54yrs later and the little bastard is still buzzing around while I’m trying to eat my dinner!
didn’t vegemite do this and kept ‘vegemite’ anyway? didn’t john farnham do this too. all the time?
This has the potential to be a great campaign. Now where’s my fly swat?
i think he should be killed for ever
🙂 i think he should get saved because he is cute and i like bugs hahahah 🙂
Louie is intitled to his Job because of the grandfather clause that allowes him to be employed comes into affect . BACK OFF.
keep him!
I grew up singing Louie’s song. Now I teach it to my grandchildren. I don’t use a spray in my home. I use old fashioned fly paper hanging from the ceiling (yes you can still buy them). I don’t breathe chemicals, and Louie gets a 50/50 chance of living.
BTW, I live in the country and it is cheaper to change a flypaper once a week, than to spray a can a day trying to kill flies.
I am a 53yr woman. I remember being in Year 6 and I was not popular as i was overweight. The class had to put on a little play/act and I was chosen with about 3 of the most popular kids. I was HORRIFIED as I didnt know what I could do. The kids in my group were mean and said I HAD to sing and I HAD to decide what we would do. I just had “I’m Louie the fly ,Louie the fly , straight from rubbish and ( I WANTED TO TIP IT ALL OVER THESE KIDS) so I sang the song but with right words and we WON. I made real friends then from other groups. GO LOUIE I LOVE you for giving me confidence. x
leve louie to live at lest 50 years more
kill he’s dirty