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Influencers Wish Smokey Bear a Happy 80th Birthday

FCB's guided the safety icon through the decades

by Amy Corr

August 9, 2024

7:40 am

2 min read

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Can you believe that Smokey Bear has been educating adults and young people about wildfire prevention for 80 years? It seems like just yesterday he turned a young 75. Amazingly, FCB has handled The Ad Council’s Smokey messaging since the work launched during World War II.

Smokey’s birthday celebration began earlier this year with “Decades,” where the beloved bear, voiced by Brian Tyree Henry, fondly recalls teaching families how to safely make and extinguish campfires.

“Part of what makes Smokey such an iconic mainstay in American culture has been his ability—with a lot of credit to the team at FCB—to remain consistent in his look and message while still continuing to evolve with the times,” says Tracy Danicich, VP, group campaign director at the Ad Council. “His jeans, belt buckle and hat, as well as his ‘Only You’ tagline have not changed much since he was first introduced in the 1940s. We keep those elements and his overall look up to date, and make sure he’s connecting with new audiences through the latest channels and platforms.”

Those latest channels are social media. Celebrating Smokey today are influencers like The Retirement House, Grandma Droniak and Carol Starr, who are welcoming Smokey to his octogenarian era. Look out for Bill Nye, Mychal Threets the Bennet Gang and Sparky the Fire Dog spreading wildfire prevention education for fans of the outdoors.

“Smokey has evolved with the times, ensuring his message of wildfire prevention continues to resonate with Americans for multiple generations,” Danicich tells Muse. In the 1960s, Smokey was receiving so much fan mail that he got his own zip code (the only other individual besides the U.S. President to have a personal one). Nowadays, he engages with people on social media, sharing memes and wildfire prevention tips to his hundreds of thousands of followers. He has had custom filters on social media platforms and even graced the sides of delivery robots in California to further spread his message of wildfire prevention.”