Smokey Bear, the fictional face of forest fire prevention, is celebrating 80 years. It's the longest running and most successful advertising campaign in American history.

This is Smokey Bear's history. Here's the humble real-life bear that made Smokey iconic. On Aug. 9, 1944, Smokey was created as a fictional bear to help the Forest Service spread the word about ...

Smokey Bear is known to generations who grew up hearing "Only you can prevent forest fires." Here's more on Smokey's history.

On Aug. 9, 1944, Smokey was created as a fictional bear to help the Forest Service spread the word about fire safety and forest conservation, according to Smokey's website.

The USDA and the Ad Council initially decided that a fictional bear named Smokey would be their symbol for forest fire prevention in 1944, and by 1947, the famous catchphrase, "Only YOU can ...

While most people's eyes are on the real-life bears of Alaska and their quest to get as large as possible, we wanted to pay homage to some of the most famous bears in the world: fictional bears ...

On Aug. 9, 1944, Smokey was created as a fictional bear to help the Forest Service spread the word about fire safety and forest conservation, according to Smokey's website.

The USDA and the Ad Council initially decided that a fictional bear named Smokey would be their symbol for forest fire prevention in 1944. Skip Navigation. Share on Facebook; Share on SMS; ...