SMOKEY BEAR

Smokey Bear (also known as Smokey The Bear) is an American advertising icon created by the U.S. Forest Service with artist Albert Staehle in 1944. Previously, the forest service had run a very successful series of posters with Walt Disney's Bambi, but Disney, who had allowed them to use Bambi for free, withdrew the license, so they needed a new character, and fortunately, Smokey came along at just the right time (he was always known as Smokey Bear, but so many people called him by the wrong name, Smokey the Bear, that it has become his name!). Designed to educate the public about the dangers of unplanned human-caused wildfires, Smokey is the longest-running public service advertising campaign in United States history. His slogan, "Remember... Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires" was created in 1947 and was associated with Smokey Bear for more than five decades.