Dick Wolf Ponders The Future of TV Ads

"LAW AND ORDER" BOSS DICK WOLF PONDERS THE FUTURE OF TV ADS (DOINK, DOINK)
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Brian Steinberg brian.steinberg@wsj.com ]
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. These days, however, even the most successful TV producers face an uncertain new world. Consumers can watch entertainment programming whenever they please, on venues other than traditional television, and speed through the commercials. Mr. Wolf, 59, recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal about the changing relationship between advertisers and television. Excerpt: "if anyone tells you what the television business is going to look like a decade out, they are on drugs."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116113866082296113.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
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