Mortein Louie The Fly death ‘hoax’ sparks media backlash

louie_the_flyMortein is facing a growing media backlash over what is now being portrayed as a cynical stunt to pretend to kill off brand icon Louie The Fly before bringing him back “by public demand”.

The move, which appears to have been masterminded by Euro RSCG, began a fortnight ago with a news story placed in Fairfax Media’s Sun Herald – bylined to Rachel Browne – announcing the death of Louie, who has been the face of the Reckitt Benckiser brand for more than half a century.

Euro’s sister PR arm Red Agency followed up the next day with a press release. It quoted Chris Tedesco, marketing director at Reckitt Benckiser, as saying: “It was a hard decision, but Mortein has decided to kill off Louie The Fly once and for all.”

At the time, Mumbrella predicted that the move was a PR stunt.

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