UNITED STATES — Happy birthday, Smokey Bear!
Everyone’s favorite fire-stopping bear made his debut in 1944, making the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history, according to Smokey’s website.
Two seemingly unrelated events lead to the creation of Smokey: WWII and Disney’s “Bambi” (1942).
Forest protection became a national priority after Japanese submarines nearly ignited Los Padres National Forest in California, according to Smokey’s website. The Forest Service created the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention program with the War Advertising Council and the Association of State Foresters, coining such slogans as “Forest Fires Aid the Enemy” and “Our Carelessness, Their Secret Weapon.”
This coincided with the popularity of “Bambi,” which put cute forest animals in the public consciousness. Disney and the Forest Service struck a deal to license “Bambi” characters for a poster, but the deal expired after one year. The success of the poster signaled that a forest animal mascot was the way to go.
On Aug. 9, 1944 the creation of Smokey Bear was authorized by the USDA Forest Service, and the first poster depicting him was unveiled the next day. Featuring art by Albert Staehle, the poster showed a bear pouring a bucket of water on a campfire.
That’s right, folks. He’s a Leo. A fire sign!
To mark his 79th birthday, Smokey’s Facebook account posted a video of the bear receiving his ideal gift.
For fire danger updates in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, see the Smokey Bear indicator on the top right corner of Teton Interagency Fire’s website.
