Smokey Bear turns 80: Five facts about the development of the campaign
Few mascots have as long a tradition as Smokey Bear, as his creation during World War II was considered a matter of national importance.
- Smokey Bear’s catchphrase was changed from “Only YOU can prevent forest fires” to “Only you can prevent wildfires” in 2001.
- The Smokey Bear wildfire prevention campaign is the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history.
Fill in the gap.
Only you can prevent _________.
If you said forest fires, you are only partly correct.
In 2001, Smokey Bear’s catchphrase changed from “Only you can prevent forest fires” to “Only you can prevent wildfires.”
“Our goal was simply to recognize that wildfires occur in all types of ecosystems, not just forests,” explained Lincoln Bramwell, national historian for the U.S. Forest Service.
As Smokey Bear celebrates his 80th birthday on Friday, here are eight more interesting facts about the legendary bear.
1. Smokey is connected to World War II
“Many people forget that wood was actually a vital war material,” Bramwell said. “All the tanks and guns and everything and the planes were made of metal, but everything that went overseas was packed in wooden crates.”
He explained that the Publicity Council was tasked with raising awareness during the war, and while fire prevention campaigns were nothing new, he said that in the past, “there were a lot of really scary images trying to scare you, like literal skeletons in the woods. Scaring people is the only way to get a message across.”
2. Before Smokey there was Bambi
Bambi changed everything.
Bramwell said that in early 1944, the Walt Disney Co. granted the wartime Advertising Council a license to use Bambi in its fire prevention advertising messages.
“And it was really effective. Kids and different age groups recognized it. And they thought, ‘Oh, we’re onto something here,'” he said. “But the Walt Disney Co. only allowed a one-year license to use Bambi for that message. So the wartime Advertising Council decided, ‘What if we use a different kind of cartoon animal?’ and started tinkering with the idea. And that was kind of the birth of the Smokey Bear character in 1944.”
Smokey and Bambi later teamed up for public service ads. Other notables who spread Smokey’s message included Rod Sterling from “The Twilight Zone,” Ray Charles, and Dolly Parton.
3. There were real Smokey Bears
“In 1950, some firefighters in the Lincoln National Forest rescued a black bear cub that had been orphaned and injured in a forest fire. Through some outreach and demand, this bear was actually brought to the National Zoo in Washington, DC. He became the first living Smokey Bear and remained a permanent fixture at the zoo for quite some time.”
The bear died in 1976, but a second orphaned bear, Smokey Bear II, lived at the zoo until 1990, he said.
4. He is not Smokey the Bear
“In 1952, songwriters Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins wrote a song about Smokey, adding ‘the’ to keep the rhythm of the song. The tune became so popular that many fans began calling the icon Smokey the Bear,” says the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute website.
His name is simply Smokey Bear.
5. Smokey has his own zip code
“When Smokey, the real live bear, was at the National Zoo, kids could send Smokey a postcard, and Smokey would respond with a sort of Junior Ranger packet with instructions and activities. It became so popular that the post office created a separate zip code for Smokey Bear,” Bramwell said. “Only the U.S. President and Smokey Bear have individual zip codes.”
The zip code for Smokey Bear is 20252.
6. Smokey holds a record
“The Smokey Bear wildfire prevention campaign is the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history,” says Smokey Bear’s website.
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7. Smokey gives tips
Smokey Bear has long emphasized our role in fire prevention, but Bramwell said focus groups have recently expressed interest in more practical tips.
“Can you explain it a little better? We’re not as used to campfires as maybe we were in our parents’ or grandparents’ days. Can you give us some more basic messages?” Bramwell said. “And that’s one of the ways in which this ad has changed a little bit.”
Tutorials are available in the app and on Smokey Bear’s website. He also has an Instagram page.
8. Smokey’s message is as important as ever
“A huge demographic shift in the continental U.S. is the number of Americans moving to the outskirts of the suburbs and beyond, close to natural vegetation,” Bramwell said. “They’re not working in the forest like they did 80 years ago, but many more people are living close to nature and are therefore exposed to wildfires.”
Outdoor leisure activities also continue to be extremely popular.
The U.S. Forest Service estimates that 159 million recreational visitors came to national forests between fiscal years 2018 and 2022. That doesn’t include the hundreds of millions of people who visit national parks and other open spaces each year.
“You just have to handle it responsibly,” Bramwell said.
