Long before he created the popular crime-solving TV series “Law & Order,” Dick Wolf was an ad man working for Benton & Bowles and other agencies. One of his big accomplishments was helping to devise the slogan “You can’t beat Crest for fighting cavities” for the Procter & Gamble toothpaste. When working with P&G, Mr. Wolf says, “the sacred mantra was brand extension, and the biggest negative was a brand extension which would hurt the brand. That was to be avoided like the plague.”
He took P&G’s lesson to heart when building “Law & Order” and its critically-acclaimed spinoffs, which are broadcast so frequently on NBC and cable stations that their familiar “doink, doink” sound effects between scenes seem ubiquitous. Mr. Wolf gives P&G full credit. “There are some tips you never forget,” he says.
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