Smokey Bear: Difference between revisions

Smokey

Smokey Bear is the longest running public service campaign in United States history. The character's mission is to raise public awareness to protect America's forests. Since its inception, Smokey's forest fire prevention campaign has reduced the number of acres lost annually from 22 million to 4 million.

Smokey's message "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires" was created in 1947 by the Ad Council. In a recent study, 95% of those surveyed could finish the sentence when given the first words. In April 2001, Smokey's message was updated to "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires."

The fictional character Smokey Bear is administered by three entities: the United States Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters, and the Ad Council. Smokey Bear's name and image are protected by U.S. federal law, Sections 18 USC 711 and 16 USC 580p-2, granting protection that supercedes the limited authorities of both a trademark and a copyright.

Beginning the campaign

Before World War II, forest fire prevention campaigns used colorful posters to bring attention to the problem. During the war, images of the Axis leaders were depicted to drive home the message that forest fires hurt the country’s war effort. Lumber was a critical natural resource needed for the armed forces.

In 1942 the animated feature film Bambi was released. Soon after, Walt Disney allowed his characters to appear in fire prevention public service campaigns. However, Bambi was only loaned to the government for a year, so a new symbol was needed.

Sticking with the popular animal theme, a bear was chosen. His name was inspired by Smoky Joe Martin, a New York City Fire Department hero who shrugged off burns and blindness in a bold 1922 rescue . Smokey's debut poster was released on August 9, 1944, which is considered his birthday. Overseen by the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention Campaign, the first poster was illustrated by Albert Staehle. In 1944 Smokey was depicted wearing dungarees and a campaign hat, pouring a bucket of water on a campfire. The message underneath reads, "Smokey says – Care will prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires!" In a 1948 poster, Smokey grasps a shovel, standing next to deer, squirrels, and birds. By now his message had been refined: "Another 30 million acres will burn this year – unless you are careful! Remember – only you can prevent forest fires!"

Beginning in 1944 the full-time campaign artist was Forest Service employee Rudy Wendelin, who was considered Smokey Bear's "caretaker" until he retired in 1973.

The living symbol of Smokey

The living symbol of Smokey Bear was an black bear who in the spring of 1950 was caught in the Capitan Gap fire, a wildfire that burned 17,000 acres in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico. The cub was in the Lincoln National Forest. Smokey had climbed a tree to escape the blaze, but his paws and hind legs had been burned. He was rescued by forest rangers fighting the wildfire.

At first he was called Hotfoot Teddy, but was later renamed Smokey, after the mascot. A local rancher who had been helping fight the fire took the cub home with him, but he needed veterinary aid. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Ranger Ray Bell took him to Santa Fe. His wife, Ruth, and their children, Don and Judy, cared for the cub. The story was picked up by the national news services and Smokey became an instant celebrity. He and the Bells were featured in Life (magazine), cementing his star status. Soon after, Smokey was flown in a Piper Cub to the National Zoo in Washington, DC, where he lived for 26 years. Upon his death in November 1975, Smokey’s remains were returned by the government to Capitan, New Mexico, and buried at what is now the Smokey Bear Historical Park.

"Only YOU can prevent wildfires!"

Smokey the icon

Following the discovery of the living symbol of Smokey Bear, the character became a big part of American popular culture in the 1950s. He was on radio shows in the 1950s with his band, the Sons of the Pioneers. He appeared in comic strips and cartoons.

Smokey's correct, full name, is Smokey Bear. In 1952, songwriters Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins had a hit with The Ballad of Smokey The Bear. The pair said that "the" was added to Smokey’s name to keep the song's rhythm. This small change has caused confusion among Smokey fans ever since.

On the back of the song sheet was printed the Conservation Pledge:

I give my pledge as an American to save and faithfully to defend from waste the natural resources of my country – its soil and minerals, its forests, waters and wildlife.

In 1952, after Smokey Bear attracted considerable commercial interest, The Smokey Bear Act, an Act of Congress, was passed to take Smokey out of the public domain and place him under the control of the Secretary of Agriculture. The Act provided for the use of Smokey's royalties for continued education on forest fire prevention.

A Smokey Bear doll was released by Ideal Toys in 1952, which included a mail-in card for children to become junior forest rangers. Within three years half a million kids had applied. In 1965 Smokey was given his own ZIP code, 20252.

In 1955 the first children’s book was published, followed by many sequels and coloring books. Soon thousands of dolls, toys, and other collectibles were on the market.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the Ad Council sponsored radio ads, featuring Smokey Bear's "in conversation" with prominent Americans such as Bing Crosby, Art Linkletter, Dinah Shore, Roy Rogers, and many others.

Legacy

Smokey Bear with members of the Boy Scouts of America and the Camp Fire Girls in 1950

For Smokey’s 50th anniversary in 1994, he was honored with a postage stamp that pictured a cub hanging onto a burned tree. It was illustrated by Rudy Wendelin.

In 2004 Smokey celebrated his 60th anniversary. According to Richard Earle, author of The Art of Cause Marketing, the Smokey Bear campaign is recognized as among the most powerful and enduring of all public service advertising. "Smokey is simple, strong, straightforward," Earle writes. "He's a denizen of those woods you're visiting, and he cares about preserving them. Anyone who grew up watching Bambi realizes how terrifying a forest fire can be. But Smokey wouldn't run away. Smokey's strong. He'll stay and fight the fire if necessary, but he'd rather have you douse it and cover it up so he doesn't have to."

Smokey Bear in popular culture

The school district in Hill City, South Dakota], following a devastating 1939 area wildfire, is allowed by the government to use Smokey Bear as its mascot. It is believed to be the only school in the country to be able to do so.

Smokey Bear -- and parodies of the character -- have been appearing in animation for more than fifty years. In 1956 he made a cameo appearance in the Walt Disney short In the Bag with a voice provided by Jackson Weaver. In 1966 Rankin/Bass produced an animated TV special called The Ballad of Smokey the Bear, narrated by James Cagney. In more recent appearances, an episode of Dexter's Laboratory featured "Smokum" and a bear that looked similar to Smokey appeared in South Park during its first season Halloween special. In the Simpsons episode Mountain of Madness, Bart Simpson encounters an interactive educational Smokey-shaped exhibit at a national park.

The Ballad of Smokey the Bear was covered by Canned Heat. The track is on their CD The Boogie House Tapes 1969-1999.

Smokey the Bear Sutra, a 1969 poem by Gary Snyder which presents environmental concerns in the form of a Buddhist sutra, and depicts Smokey as the reincarnation of the Great Sun Buddha. Full text is on Wikisource - Smokey the Bear Sutra.

Smokey Bear is also referenced on the Spinal Tap song "America".

CB radio users often use the words "smoky" or "bear" as code for "highway patrol" or "state police", alluding to the flat-brimmed campaign hat that many state troopers wear.

Smokey Bear at the 2005 National Scout Jamboree.

External links

• SmokeyBear.com
• U.S. Forest Service National Symbols Program
• Smokey Bear and Fire Prevention via US Forest Service
• Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, New Mexico
• A mugshot
• Fire causes - 2000 statistics