Made in 1953, “Little Smokey” tells the story of Smokey the Bear, as told by cowboy actor Gene Autry, also known as Hopalong Cassidy.
Smokey Bear is an American advertising icon created by the U.S. Forest Service with artist Albert Staehle, possibly in collaboration with writer and art critic Harold Rosenberg. In the longest-running public service advertising campaign in United States history, the Ad Council, the United States Forest Service (USFS), and the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) employ Smokey Bear to educate the public about the dangers of unplanned human-caused wildfires.
A campaign featuring Smokey and the slogan “Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires” began in 1944. His later slogan, “Remember… Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires” was created in 1947 and was associated with Smokey Bear for more than five decades. In April 2001, the message was officially updated to “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires.” in response to a massive outbreak of wildfires in natural areas other than forests (such as grasslands), and to clarify that Smokey is promoting the prevention of unplanned outdoor fire versus prescribed fires. According to the Ad Council, 80% of outdoor recreationists correctly identified Smokey Bear’s image and 8 in 10 recognized the campaign PSAs.
In 1952, the songwriters Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins had a successful song named “Smokey the Bear” which was performed by Eddy Arnold. The pair said “the” was added to Smokey’s name to keep the song’s rhythm. During the 1950s, that variant of the name became widespread both in popular speech and in print, including at least one standard encyclopedia, though Smokey Bear’s name never officially changed. A 1955 book in the Little Golden Books series was called Smokey the Bear and he calls himself by this name in the book. It depicted him as an orphaned cub rescued in the aftermath of a forest fire, which loosely follows Smokey Bear’s true story. From the beginning, his name was intentionally spelled differently from the adjective “smoky”.
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