On September 11, The Sun-Herald reported that Reckitt Benckiser, the British 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 Friday brought an apparent change of heart as Mr Tedesco claimed to have "been amazed by the incredible reaction to our announcement".

Like a modern-day Roman emperor, he is giving the public "the opportunity to decide whether to kill or save the much-loved icon", adding: "Louie has a special place in Australian 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 has nearly 16,000 people who "like" it. 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.

Mr Tedesco denied the plan to dump Louie was a marketing stunt and that the Facebook feature that allows people to vote to save Louie was a continuation of the stunt.

"There was always a campaign to generate a bit of interaction. Much of what is done with social media, to be successful, tries to encourage a bit of interaction with consumers,'' he said.

"But the component of Facebook that has actually led to a true vote was a decision that we made since the reaction."

The result of the vote will be taken "very seriously" by the company, Mr Tedesco said.

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 a common marketing strategy.

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.

Mr Tedesco, a highly talented marketer who arrived in Australia last year from Britain, will be familiar with the famous British hoax campaign for Heinz Salad Cream, where a brand was "rescued" by the public. Clodagh Ward, the woman behind the stunt, was hailed 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?

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?

Rowan Dean is a freelance writer and former Mortein creative director.