LOUIE THE FLY FAKES HIS OWN DEATH

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/louies-demise-was-a-sting-operation-20110924-1kqku.html

Surprise surprise. Louie The Fly faked his own death. The announcement only two weeks ago from Mortein that they intended to eliminate Australia’s most famous advertising icon was a stunt all along.

On September 11, the Sun Herald reported that Reckitt Benckiser, the British-based owners of Mortein, had “decided to kill off Louie The Fly once and for all.” Claiming it was a hard decision, marketing director Chris Tedesco said “Louie can no longer showcase the advancements of the complete Mortein range."

Yet on Friday, came an apparent change of heart, as Chris claimed to have “been amazed by the incredible reaction to our announcement.” Like a modern-day Roman emperor, he is now giving the public “the opportunity to decide whether to kill or save the much-loved icon,” adding “Louie has a special place in Australian's hearts… If the public wants to continue seeing their beloved Louie on TV screens then they can vote to save him on his Facebook page."

Emotional blackmail! We all knew Louie was a gangster, but holding the nation to ransom is a first, even for him.

Louie’s Facebook page boasts nearly sixteen thousand people who “like” it. Thumbs up! In social media terms, that is a very healthy result. Louie himself appears to be enjoying the controversy, thanking his fans for “kickin' up such a stink everyone... the latest buzz i'm hearing is that The Boss who wants to kill me might be listening to you!”

Louie has always been a rogue and a scoundrel, which is part of his larrikin appeal. Normally he’s trying to outfox “Mum” and her can of Mortein, but now it appears he’s tried to hoodwink us all.

Such contrived stunts are increasingly common in advertising, where marketers are desperate to get consumers to “engage with their brands” in the relatively low-cost world of social media. Generating free publicity through a newsworthy stunt, and then driving people online, is now a common marketing strategy. What is news? What is real? What is advertising? As we approach summer and the highly competitive “bug season”, Louie clearly couldn’t resist this potent stew of free publicity.

Where most Aussies will be amused by the harmless prank there is always a risk some will not enjoy having been deliberately duped. Consumers are funny like that.

Last May, Matt Moran admitted his “spontaneous outburst” on Masterchef was a hoax designed to generate publicity on youtube for charity group OzHarvest. His fellow foodie Matt Preston was involved the previous year in a similarly faked up “live” episode involving some spilled salmon roe and his own sponsor. Mr. Tedesco, a highly talented marketer who arrived in Australia only last year from the UK will of course be familiar with the famous British hoax campaign for Heinz Salad Cream, where a much-loved brand was similarly “rescued” from extinction by the public. The woman behind the stunt was hailed as Marketer of the Year.

Deliberately courting controversy will always work if you adhere to the philosophy that any publicity is good publicity. But at what point do consumers weary of marketers tinkering with their favourite brands and manipulating their emotions? Vegemite’s recent 2.0 iSnack shenanigans generated heaps of publicity, most of it unwanted, but it is telling that you will find no mention of the entire fiasco anywhere on their website. In the US, Toyota are currently being sued over a creepy online hoax gone awry.

Will Aussies take umbrage that their affection for Louie has been deliberately manipulated? Or will they see it as just another fun chapter in the colourful history of our loveable larrikin fly? 

ADVERTISING ICONS DROPPING LIKE FLIES

 http://www.smh.com.au/execute_search.html?text=rowan+dean&ss=smh.com.au

Advertising icons are dropping like flies. Not only is Louie The Fly destined for the scrap heap, but so are the Paddle Pop Lion, the Coco Pops monkey and the Fruit Loops Toucan.

The Obesity Policy Coalition are responsible for the latter being targeted for removal, on the grounds that such charismatic characters are responsible for one in four of our kids being overweight.

But the demise of Louie The Fly is entirely different. His death is self-inflicted. His owners have decided they no longer have any use for him, despite his proven marketing skills. But no matter how often you kill him, he keeps coming back. He has disappeared from our screens several times before, always to return.

According to adman Tom Moult, who won the Mortein business in the mid 90s by bringing back Louie, “they’re dreaming if they think they’ve got rid of him. Louie’ll be back. Guaranteed.”

Reckitt Benckiser, which now owns Louie, specialize in products that clean or kill things, bugs and germs included. The ‘‘power brands’’ making up over 70 per cent of its profits include Dettol, Nurofen and Harpic.

Mortein, invented in Australia in the 1870s, was one of the first brands to aggressively market itself on TV. Rumour has a former managing director once downing a glass of Mortein before a government inquiry to prove it wasn’t dangerous to humans.

Mortein’s biggest markets outside Australia are India and Brazil, neither of which is particularly fussed about our Aussie icon.

That is a problem for Reckitt Benckiser, which clearly prefers their ad campaigns to be consistent across the globe. Unfortunately for Louie, he is no Paul Hogan. His appeal remains strictly local. There is something unique to the Australian mindset that is comfortable feeling affection for a character whose greatest talent is getting himself killed. Call it the Ned Kelly Syndrome, perhaps.

Popular advertising properties are hard won. The legend of Louie, including his disputed origins – apart from Bryce Courtney, several others claim to have come up with the original idea – are the stuff of which advertisers dream.

I was privileged to be responsible for making the ads marking his fiftieth birthday in 2007. Not many campaigns have lasted that long, which is why Kellogg’s and Streets will resist calls to get rid of the Paddle Pops Lion, the Coco Pops Monkey, the Toucan and so on.

But in all likelihood, they will eventually follow KFC’s example (of dispensing with kid’s toys) and offer up the Lion and the Monkey as lambs on the sacrificial altar of political correctness.

Given the value to a brand of a creative device such as Louie the Fly, it would have been a hard decision for local RB marketing director Chris Tedesco, an ambitious and talented American who only arrived here from the UK twelve months ago, to consign him to the great big dustbin in the sky.

“Mortein is not just about killing a bigger range of bugs, but has continued to innovate beyond fly sprays and we feel Louie can no longer showcase the advancements of the complete Mortein range," Tedesco maintains.

According to Tedesco, getting rid of one of Australia’s most popular advertising icons, and risking any potential consumer backlash, is the right step.

"It was a hard decision,” Chris says, “but Mortein has decided to kill off Louie The Fly once and for all.”

I wouldn't bet on it. Some advertising icons simply refuse to die, no matter what the marketers wish for.

After having been unceremoniously dumped, the classic VB music is now back on our screens. “Which bank?” was successfully resurrected after a lengthy absence, and will no doubt be again at some point. The reason is simple: focus groups. If Mortein sales start to dip in Australia, Louie will find the defibrillators quickly being strapped onto his chest.

It will be interesting to see what Reckitt Benckiser now do creatively with Mortein. Its other advertising campaigns do not offer a great deal of hope for those who prefer their advertising to be lateral, quirky or subtle.

Readers can make up their own mind about the appeal of TV campaigns for Vanish Napisan, Easy Off BAM, Finish, Harpic, and Pine O Cleen.