While Goldwater lost to Lyndon Johnson, the issue of crime did not stop there. Accepting the Republican nomination for president, Barry Goldwater positioned crime as one of the biggest issues facing the nation. and numerous public figures were assassinated, including President Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. In the 1960s, a number of riots broke out across the U.S. The decades prior to McGruff's creation saw an increase in U.S. 2.2 Addressing kidnapping, drugs, gun violence, and online fakes.

This is thanks partly to recent campaigns against cyber-bullying, stopping online fakes, and elder-crime. McGruff has continued to be well recognized, with nine out of ten people recognizing him in a 2021 survey. From 1982 to 2012, a number of municipalities participated in the McGruff house program which offered temporary haven to children fearing immediate harm. McGruff campaigns continued over the years to cover topics such as child abduction, robbery, anti-drug messages, and anti-bullying campaigns.

McGruff proved to be a successful campaign with over $100 million in free air time donated in the first year reaching over 50% of adults.

His name was selected as part of a nationwide contest in July 1980. McGruff was created by Dancer Fitzgerald Sample in 1979 and debuted in 1980 with a series of public service announcements educating citizens on personal security measures, such as locking doors and putting lights on timers, in order to reduce crime. McGruff costumes are used by police outreach efforts, often with children. McGruff the Crime Dog is an anthropomorphic animated bloodhound created by Dancer Fitzgerald Sample advertising executive Jack Keil (who also voiced the character) through the Ad Council and later the National Crime Prevention Council to increase crime awareness and personal safety in the United States. Anthropomorphic bloodhound created to increase crime awareness in the American public McGruff the Crime Dogĭancer Fitzgerald Sample through the Ad Council

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