Ms. Specht was a copywriter at the McCann-Erickson (now McCann) agency in Manhattan. L’Oréal was using Preference, a relatively new product, to challenge the market dominance of Clairol’s Nice ‘n Easy. “We were sitting in this big office and everyone was discussing what the ad should be,” Ms. Specht told Malcolm Gladwell of The New Yorker in 1999. “They wanted to do something with a woman sitting by a window and the wind blowing through the curtains. You know, one of those fake places with big glamorous curtains.

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Persons: Ilon Specht, Brady Case, Ms, Specht, McCann, Erickson, L’Oréal, Malcolm Gladwell, “, ” Organizations: Yorker Locations: Barrington, R.I, Providence, Manhattan