The Advertising Council joined with the U.S. Forest Service to launch a campaign to both celebrate and educate the public about forest fires.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, contrary to popular belief, 90 percent of wildfires are caused by unattended campfires, burning trash, arson, and carelessly discarded flammable material.
The advertisement campaign will run through July 4, the annual high season for camping outdoors.
“Smokey Bear is the center of the longest-running and one of the most successful public service campaigns in U.S. history,” said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “Our Wildfire Prevention campaign has helped children and adults throughout the country understand their role in preventing wildfires and these new PSAs and online components will continue to have a significant impact.”
This year, the campaigns are specifically targeted at the younger generations and make use of CG-animation to encourage young adults to “Get Your Smokey On”—to speak up when seeing careless actions.
“Smokey Bear is the nation’s symbol for wildfire prevention and his important message has been communicated to generations of Americans during the past 65 years,” said Helene Cleveland, fire prevention program manager for the U.S. Forest Service. “Smokey’s enduring message is as critical today as it was when he was introduced in 1944 and I am confident that our new PSAs will continue to raise awareness about wildfire prevention issues.”
Smokey the Bear was created by the Ad Council in 1944 for the U.S. Forest Service and made his debut on August 9 of that year.
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