By Zach Schonbrun
The New York Times
Jack Keil had the slogan first. He wrote six words — “Take a bite out of crime” — on the back of an envelope in a Kansas City airport lounge.
The slogan stuck, and so has the character that growls them. Nearly four decades later, McGruff the Crime Dog, Mr. Keil’s cartoon hound with that guttural voice and floppy trench coat, is still one of the country’s most recognizable advertising figures, perhaps rivaled only by icons like Smokey Bear, Ronald McDonald and Mr. Peanut.