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Smokey Bear returns, still fighting wildfires
An icon in the advertising world returned to the airwaves recently when the Ad Council and the USDA Forest Service, launched a new campaign featuring Smokey Bear, who continues to remind us that "only you can prevent wildfires." The new campaign includes a series of PSA's that are already airing on television, as well as an educational DVD designed for elementary children.Smokey first made his appearance back in 1944 and over the years he has become one of the most recognizable animated characters of all time. Smokey has educated several generations of children about the dangers of forest fires, and since his introduction, the number of acres that are burned up annually has gone down from 22 million in 1944, to 6.5 million today.
Since his humble beginnings, Smokey has been trying to warn us about wildfires and their causes. For instance, did you know that 9 out of 10 forest fires are caused by people? Most are due to campfires left unattended, trash burning on windy days, arson, careless discarding of smoking materials or BBQ coals. We often operate under the false assumption that they are a natural occurrence caused by lightning, and while that does happen, it is quite rare.
With his return, Smokey brings a snappy new slogan that invites you to "Get Your Smokey On." He also continues to remind us of our responsibilities when we use fire in the wild, and that even after all these years, he still needs our help to prevent the nearly 70,000 wildfires caused by humans each year.
In another example of his jump to the 21st century, Smokey can be found on all the regular social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Or you can check out the all new Smokey at SmokeyBear.com.
(Articled edited to get Smokey's name right! We can't have him attacking after all!)
Filed under: Activism, Hiking, North America, United States, Camping
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Marcia Jul 15th 2010 1:47PM
You get credit for correctly giving his email (SmokeyBear.com), but Smokey has been known for many years now as just plain Smokey Bear, omitting the "the" in his name.
Me Jul 16th 2010 8:32AM
Actually...he's ALWAYS been known as 'Smokey Bear"; look it up.
pizza4749 Jul 16th 2010 9:10AM
Yes. It's not Smokey THE Bear. It is Smokey Bear. You don't say Easter The Bunny or Santa The Claus do you? They changed his name, formally, to Smokey Bear. If you say it wrong, he will attack.
MamaMia Jul 16th 2010 9:18AM
Now, if we could just get Burger King to do something about that mascot of theirs. I have nightmares about that king-thing, And while we're on the subject of mascots, what the heck were the Mayflower Moving marketing people thinking about? That giant puppet girl of theirs is about the creepiest thing in advertising history. And where are her parents?! That's what I wanna know. Why is a creepy red-haired girl with no belongings but a lamp shade( and dressed like she's about four) ambling across the country by herself with a bunch of moving men?
John Jul 16th 2010 9:37AM
Why does there have to be a Spanish speaking kid in there? If you want to reach all ethnicities then it is only fair to have other languages too!
chuckie Jul 16th 2010 11:15AM
John...have you been living in a cave the past few years? Our government has been trying to turn the US into a third-world Spanish speaking country...and we're letting them. Arizona has tried to stand up to them and the state is getting hammered by the idiots in Washington
Besides, with the dumbing down of our educational system, most high school graduates have no idea how to speak English properly, much less spell or use proper grammar.
It's time to take back our country...vote EVERY incumbent out on election day.
rikstik71664 Jul 17th 2010 11:24AM
majority of forest fires are caused by lightning.
Lee Jul 16th 2010 10:01AM
Smokey the Bear, Smokey Bear........I guess it matters?
Wasn't Smokey a cub bear that was found in a forest fire by a worker? Seems that his Mother was killed by the flames? Maybe I am wrong? I am a married man, so I am completely accustomed to being wrong about everthing, probably here too!
Have a great day everyone!!
Dick Jul 16th 2010 10:09AM
They're changing ol' Smokey's image so why not change his slogan. HOW ABOUT THIS: "Remember, only you can prevent a forest."
Rick Jul 16th 2010 4:51PM
Are you saying they're changing his image because they are using new animation methods? Or because he has been updated to current culture? Would you rather go back to Eddy Arnold teaching kids the Smokey Bear song? Would any of today's kids listen?
TONY DEE Jul 16th 2010 10:21AM
THE OLD ADS, PROMOS AND COMMERCIALS USED TO SAY SMOKEY "THE" BEAR
IM OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER ;+}
John F.C. Taylor Jul 16th 2010 10:35AM
It has never been Smokey Bear for those old enough to remember the old ads. Smokey The Bear regardless of what they want to call him now. Why is it now wild fires instead of forest fires? Is a controlled fire called tame?
Larry W. Bruce Jul 16th 2010 11:34AM
The updated Smokey Bear looks like a wus ! ! ! What happened to the rugged-looking, timber-protective bear ??? I prefer the long standing rugged icon.
Melanie Jul 20th 2010 2:19PM
Seriously, do we have to split hairs? Whether or not you agree with the usage of different ethnicities, the bears name, whether fires are forest or wild, etc, get a grip. Don't judge by what and how the service get the message out there, judge that the message is a good one that will not only save our forests; but, it will save lives too!
They say wild fires now b/c there are areas of trees that aren't particularly a forest. Children can build fires there too. For example the coastal areas really do not have forests per se; but, they have fires in their "wild" sections where many animals live. It happened last year in SC near Myrtle Beach.
All fire is bad.
Gregory Schwartz Jul 16th 2010 12:31PM
He used to be called Smokey THE bear! I remember the ads way back in the 1950's and he was Smokey the Bear. It was in the 1970's they started calling him Smokey Bear. The reason we don't call him Easter THE Bunny is because Easter is not his name. He is the Easter Bunny not the Autumn or Winter Bunny. Santa Clause is his name. My cat was Bob. We called him Bob The Cat. Does this make sense? I have better, more important things to straighten out, like the NAACP -vs- Tea Party and misinformed idiots that are against the Arizona law. ((It's all caused by people with no information or incorrect information.)) The BP oil spill that we will be dealing with for many, many years to come. The one that gets me the most riled is the muslims that want to build a mosque at the ground zero site. They want to thumb their noses at us and slap us in the face, then rub our noses in "it". That's what I'm worried about. Smokey THE bear, indeed..Shhheessh! - gregg in Sarasota, FL
Fran Jul 16th 2010 2:16PM
'the muslims that want to build a mosque at the ground zero site...want to thumb their noses at us and slap us in the face, then rub our noses in "it".'
Um, actually not. First of all, the proposed mosque isn't literally 'on' the Ground Zero site; it's just close by. I hate to be the one to clue you in, but Manhattan is an extremely cosmopolitan place, with residents from all over the world, of many cultures and religions. All these people want is a place to hold their religious services in the neighborhood where they live, the same as people of any other religion that requires a regular meetingplace. And they have just as much right to do so as anyone else. Just because they happen to be Muslims doesn't mean that they were the ones who flew those planes into those buildings, or that they approved of it in any way. So please stop spewing the hate and ignorance; it makes it embarrassing to be an American when the rest of the world gets the impression that most Americans think like you do.
Gregory Schwartz Jul 16th 2010 12:40PM
You don't call him "Easter The Bunny" because his NAME is not "Easter". Easter is the season he comes to lay jelly beans. If his name was "Pinkie" the Easter Bunny, then that would be different. Santa Clause is his NAME! That's why we don't call him Santa THE Clause. See my comment elsewhere is this wasteland!
- gregg in Sarasota, FL
Michael Provencher Jul 16th 2010 12:55PM
Chuckie, MUST you use this relatively innocuous story as a platform to inflict your crackpot philosophy on others? Feel free to vote as you please but no one really wants to hear the rambling justifications that you believe validate your viewpoint. Your statement would probably carry more weight if it didn't amount to an attack on the English language skills of others by someone who clearly has less than a firm grasp on them himself.
Robert Johnston Jul 16th 2010 1:50PM
I remember a radio spot that USDA/Forest Service did that involved Smokey Bear--but with a bada@@ attitude!
How bada@@?
Well, Smokey threatened to break the singer in two for not putting out a fire that the singer used to warm his morning coffee!
As in "No More Mr. Nice Bear!"
Of course, this was back between 1977-1978...don't know how well such an ad would go down today.
--RKJ
Sherri Jul 16th 2010 2:29PM
Smokey THE Bear. I remember the lyrics to the song: "Smokey the Bear, Smokey the Bear. Growlin' and a prowlin' and a siffin' the air. He can stop a fire, before it starts to flame, That's why they call huim Smokey and he sure deserves the name."