UNITED STATES — 2024 marks 80 years of Smokey Bear’s mission to prevent wildfires, and a new ad campaign highlights how the character has affected generations of campers.
“For decades, I’ve taught you everything I know,” Smokey says in a new video. “How to safely build a fire, how to control the flames, what to do with hot coals… But I can only teach wildfire prevention. Only you can prevent wildfires.”
Actor Brian Tyree Henry lends his voice to the iconic bear for the campaign, a collaboration by the USDA Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters and the Ad Council. Actors including Betty White and Sam Elliott have voice Smokey in the past.
Also noteworthy in this video is the new Smokey Bear costume, which is operated by four puppeteers, allowing the bear to appear to speak without computer-generated assistance.
“The 1944 Smokey Bear campaign was born from a need to inform the public about our role in preventing wildfires,” South Carolina State Forester and President of the National Association of State Foresters Scott Phillips said via press release. “As the national wildfire crisis grows in severity, with each year bringing unprecedented wildfire activity to new states, taking significant tolls on resources, responders and our forest lands, the imperative of Smokey’s message has to grow right along with it. Every person who Smokey’s message has touched is one more asset in the combat against catastrophic wildfire.”
Smokey was created in August of 1944, making his the longest running PSA campaign in the U.S. Expect more from Smokey this year in the lead-up to his 80th birthday celebration.
