Louie The Fly

Louie the Fly born to parents Marg and Mort is an anthropomorphic housefly featured in advertisements for Mortein, an Australian insecticide brand.

Mortein was created in Australia in the 1870s by German immigrant J. Hagemann. The name combines "mort" (French for “dead”) and "ein" (German for “one”). Mortein has been produced by Samuel Taylor Pty Ltd since 1937. Interestingly, best-selling author Bryce Courtenay is responsible for creating Louie.

In 2017, the National Film and Sound Archive added the Louie the Fly Mortein jingle to the Sounds of Australia register for songs of "cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance".

Creation

At 24, while working as an advertising copywriter for Sydney’s McCann Erickson agency, Courtenay was tasked with developing the character. This came after Bill Graham, the managing director of the company that made Mortein, rejected the original proposal. Courtenay, who would later become known for novels like The Power of One, Tandia, and The Potato Factory, created Louie. The character, along with a memorable jingle, became a beloved Australian icon, appearing in Mortein ads every Spring and Summer.

Louie’s original singing voice, introduced in 1962, was performed by Neil Williams, later replaced by actor Ross Higgins, known for his role as Ted Bullpitt in Kingswood Country. Higgins gave Louie a Chicagoan gangster style, inspired by Edward G. Robinson’s voice. The jingle was composed by James Joseph White, who worked on several other commercial jingles. It was the only composition he copyrighted, and after his death, his relatives inherited the rights.

Appearance

Louie Throughout the Years

Louie is portrayed as a street-smart, roguish hustler, often seen wearing a hat and chewing on a burnt-match toothpick (once a cigar). In recent years, he has been joined by other insect characters, including spiders, mosquitoes, and cockroaches, to promote Mortein's versatility.

In Louie’s debut in 1957, he was depicted as a realistic fly.

Original Advertising Jingle

The original 1962 jingle featured Louie’s theme song, with occasional lyric changes in later ads, such as those in the 1990s. In newer ads, the jingle is often heard as an instrumental.

“Louie the Fly, I’m Louie the Fly

Straight from rubbish tip to you.

Spreading disease, with the greatest of ease,

Straight from rubbish tip to you.

I’m bad and mean and mighty unclean,

Afraid of no-one, ‘cept the man with the can of Mortein.

Hate that word Mortein.

One spray and Louie the Fly,

Apple of his old mother’s eye was Louie,

Poor dead Louie, Louie the Fly, a victim of Mortein. Mortein.”

2011 "Save Louie the Fly" Campaign

In the summer of 2011, Mortein launched a campaign allowing the public to decide Louie's fate. Over 250,000 votes were cast to save Louie, leading to his return to advertising..