Smokey Bear’s Wildfire Prevention campaign is the Ad Council’s longest running PSA campaign—68 years on August 9th to be exact!

The same ad agency, Draftfcb, has developed creative for Smokey his entire life. This is no small feat—Smokey’s image has evolved to fit the times as his message “Only YOU can prevent forest fires,” has remained a firm fixture in the childhood memories of generations. For the first time, we’re unveiling what is considered to be Smokey’s “birth certificate.”  It’s a memo from R.F. Hammatt, US Forest Service Director of the Wartime Forest Fire Prevention Campaign, ordering artwork for the creation of the iconic Smokey Bear image. Among other things, it calls for “nose short (panda type), color black or brown; expression appealing… perhaps wearing a campaign (or Boy Scout) hat that typifies the outdoors and the woods.” Click here to view the full memo! Since he was introduced to America in 1944, Smokey has helped to reduce the number of acres burned annually to wildfires from 22 million to an average of 6.5 million today. We’ve been celebrating Smokey’s birthday all week, starting with a takeover of our Facebook page. Check it out and don’t forget to wish him a happy birthday!