WESTMINSTER, Vt. (AP) - The advertising executive who led the team that created McGruff the Crime Dog and who voiced the character has died.
The family of John "Jack" Keil (KY-el) says he died Aug. 25 at home in Westminster West, Vermont. He was 94.
The National Crime Prevention Council says Keil was one of the giants in the advertising industry and shared his talents to support crime prevention.
He was creative director the Dancer Fitzgerald Sample advertising agency when he and his team created the animated dog in a trench coat, with the slogan "Take a Bite Out of Crime."
The Council says McGruff first appeared in public service announcements in 1980 and is still used today in campaigns in communities around the country to support safety and crime prevention.