{{Short description|Australian beer mascot}} thumb|right|Mr Fourex in a 1920 advertisement
The Australian beer brand Castlemaine XXXX's mascot is '''Mr Fourex''' - a jovial cartoon man in a suit with a boater hat, who features on the City side of the Fourex Brewery at Milton, Queensland and has been used in advertising since 1924.<ref>{{cite web|title=A beer for Queensland tastes - the history of XXXX and Castlemaine Perkins Brewery|url=https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/beer-queensland-tastes-history-xxxx-and-castlemaine-perkins-brewery|publisher=State Library of Queensland|accessdate=22 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Our story|url=https://www.xxxx.com.au/our-story/|publisher=XXXX|accessdate=22 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="SMH2005">{{cite web|title=Mr Fourex returns in new ad campaign|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/mr-fourex-returns-in-new-ad-campaign-20050929-gdm5mt.html|publisher=Sydney Morning Herald|accessdate=22 November 2024}}</ref> He was the face of XXXX advertising campaigns until 1967 and afterwards remained featured on bottles and packaging.<ref name="SMH2005"></ref> He was used for a billboard campaign in 2005,<ref name="SMH2005"></ref> and a limited edition XXXX Gold can in 2019 as part of a "retro campaign".<ref>{{cite web|title=XXXX Celebrates Summer of Cricket with Mr Fourex|url=https://www.lionco.com/2019/09/25/xxxx-celebrates-summer-of-cricket-with-mr-fourex/|publisher=Lion|accessdate=22 November 2024}}></ref>
The true identity for the inspiration behind the cartoon remains a mystery.<ref name="qldicons">[http://www.nationaltrustqld.org/files/Tabloid_2_v4.pdf Tabloid_2.indd] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060919024124/http://www.nationaltrustqld.org/files/Tabloid_2_v4.pdf |date=19 September 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.xxxx.com.au/history/|publisher=Lion - Beer, Spirits & Wine Australia|accessdate=9 April 2014}}</ref> Mr Fourex is sometimes said to be modelled after Paddy Fitzgerald, a former director of the company,<ref name="SMH2005"></ref> however Mr Fourex had been conceived in 1924, and Fitzgerald started with XXXX only in circa 1933.<ref name="Paddy Fitzgerald ADB">{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |last=McGinness |first=Mark |title=Fitzgerald, Patrick Charles Mitchell (Paddy) (1896–1984) |id2=fitzgerald-patrick-charles-mitchell-paddy-12497 |accessdate=22 June 2013}}</ref> A second theory is that the cartoon is modelled on a well-known dwarf who sold newspapers in the inner city suburb of Fortitude Valley in the late 1920s.<ref name="SMH2005"></ref>
He was included in the 2004 List of Queensland Heritage Icons established by the National Trust of Queensland.<ref name="qldicons"></ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Australia}} * List of Australian and New Zealand advertising characters
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Australian mascots Category:Male characters in advertising Category:Mascots introduced in 1924 Category:Mascots introduced in 1967 Category:Beer mascots Category:Fictional people from Queensland