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1944: Smokey's first appearance on a Forest Fire Prevention campaign poster. Taken from smokeybear.com.

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In 1944 Smokey The Bear made his first appearance on a campaign poster created by the United States Forest Service partnered with the Ad Council. The poster features a simple but powerful message along with the cute character we know as Smokey The Bear. A simple and powerful message sent to an audience mainly of women, children, and older folks (who could not help with the war effort at the time) and sent through print media was a success. In the 1940s, the Smokey The Bear Campaign worked because it was such a simple message crafted to inspire the simple idea of taking care of the country's wilderness. The audience was receptive to taking care of the country, especially in a time of war.

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The United States Forest Service created the cute character Smokey to decrease the number of human-caused forest fires. Smokey took the country by storm and was getting all sorts of attention. Everyone wanted a loveable character who spread a family-friendly and patriotic message about safety and preservation to partner with their brand. The character of Smokey did not change much during this time; he only became more popular. His audience heard his simple message about preventing forest fires through care. During the 1950s, the campaign partnered with celebrities and big brands, such as Bing Crosby, Roy Rogers, Dale Robertson, James Arness, and Clint Walker, to create radio advertisements. Smokey helped give brands and celebrities a family-friendly and patriotic image, and in return, he got to spread his message. During the 1950s, many American families listened to the radio frequently, so radio advertisements were an excellent channel for the message to reach audiences. Through radio and celebrity endorsements, Smokey the Bear made it through the 1950's as popular as ever.

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In the 1960s and 70s, the Smokey the Bear campaign grew into more than just Smokey. Some TV commercials featured celebrities, but many of them began to include a darker undertone and message. Television commercials such as "Babes In The Woods" and "America the Ugly," both from 1973, let audiences see the darker sides of forest fires. These advertisements made the topic of forest fires seem much more severe and put more responsibility on the American people to stop forest fires from starting. Smokey's general simple message about caring for the forests and practicing fire safety is still embedded in the more serious advertisements of the early 70s. After 1974, the Smokey the Bear advertisements took a turn back to their family-friendly roots. Cartoon images of the loveable bear began to pop up again in television and print media advertisements. This shift from jarring, serious ads to the loveable mascot thanking everyone for their contributions to keeping forests safe may tell us that the ads of the early 70s did not perform very well. When the campaign went back to simple and cute messages, such as the television ad "Thanks from All of Us" of 1974, they stuck with it. This proves that simple messages and family-friendly images have been appreciated throughout several decades. The campaign also moves very quickly with technology. From print media to radio to television, the campaign always had advertisements that would reach many families through a popular and appropriate channel. While messaging from the campaign in the early 70s was stern and serious, they were able to transition back to their family-friendly and simple roots to reach families and align with consumer values of the time.

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By the 1980s, the well-known phrase "only you can prevent forest fires" was being added to many of the campaign's advertisements. The short phrase fits with the simple message Smokey tends to share about being responsible and caring for the forest. The phrase is a powerful and well-known call to action created by the campaign. During the 1980s, the campaign turned to one of its most successful tactics, celebrity endorsement, and collaboration. Any celebrity who partnered with the loveable bear could greatly improve their image and appear family-friendly and devoted to the United States and protecting nature. During the 1980s Smokey the Bear had advertisements with B.B. King, Cheech and Chong, The Grateful Dead, Spock, and Barbara Mandrell. The campaign stayed current by collaborating with popular celebrities of the time. The image of Smokey during this time stayed cute and family-friendly. It is also crucial to discuss the role nostalgia played at this point in the Smokey the Bear campaign. Many parents would have seen the advertisements while they were growing up and they may want to introduce their kids to the loveable yet informative mascot of the United States Forest Service. The campaign played on nostalgia during the 80s by creating cute and family-friendly print media, television advertisements, and radio advertisements. Parents were encouraged to teach their children the values of fire safety and the personal responsibility to protect nature. Advertisements like the 1985 television ad " Being Careless with Fire" encouraged parents to teach their children fire safety. Throughout the 1980s, the Smokey the Bear campaign used a mix of celebrity collaboration and nostalgia to stay relevant. Additionally, the consistent and simple message "Only you can prevent forest fires" helped to increase the campaign's value and memorability to its audience.

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In the 1990s, Smokey the Bear turned 50 years old. The campaign was a part of many generations' childhoods, and nostalgia propelled the campaign to stay relevant. The advertisements from this decade tended to remain somewhat cute and family-friendly. Cartoon ads were very prevalent during this time. The cartoon advertisements of the 90s tended to be drawn in styles that were familiar and popular at the time. Advertisements like "Force of Habit" from 1993 featured Smokey and his forest friends being silly. This type of cartoon mimics cartoons of the time. Advertisements from the 90s also became more informative and gave their audience hard facts about the frequency and effects of human-caused wildfires through documentary-style ads that featured real videos of the wilderness. The time's advertisements also targeted children more, specifically through cartoon advertisements. The campaign had a target audience of younger people or people who would feel nostalgic watching cartoon advertisements. The message was still the same simple message Smokey has been relaying since his creation about caring for our wilderness and being careful with fire. The simple message was perfect for the targeted audiences, and the channel in which they released advertisements (primarily on television) was the ideal way to reach their audience. Smokey stayed relevant in the 1990s because the campaign used popular forms of media from the time, like cartoons, to evoke nostalgia and share the message with a younger audience.

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After the 1990s the Smokey the Bear campaign went in a very different direction. Print ads in black and white became a large part of the campaign according to smokeythebear.com. The advertisements became quite odd and a bit abstract. They still featured the same simple messages Smokey shares, like "think before you strike", but they were very odd-looking, and I cannot imagine they performed well. They invoked no nostalgia for older generations, and they did not appeal to the younger generation. In the 2010s the campaign got even weirder. A very lifelike and almost creepy depiction of Smokey the Bear started to appear in advertisements specifically print media such as billboards and posters. Similar to the 1970s the campaign pivoted to the cute and family-friendly depiction of Smokey after failed attempts at new and unique ads. It is clear that the Smokey campaign being able to adapt when things aren't quite right has kept them successful and relevant. Nostalgia and family-friendly advertisements always produce success for the campaign. In 2017, Smokey got a rebrand, and later, in 2020, the campaign began to mimic the cartoon style of the time, creating advertisements that almost looked like YouTube video thumbnails. At this time, Smokey is a cute, modern-looking cartoon. Additionally, the campaign went back to celebrity endorsements and featured celebrities in their advertisements such as Al Roker, Jeff Foxworthy, Stephen Colbert, Betty White, and Isabella Gomez. The campaign also celebrated Smokey's 75th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic. In all, Smokey has returned to his simple messaging and appealing family-friendly cartoons. The Smokey the Bear campaign is back to targeting children and nostalgic adults with its advertisements. Smokey the Bear has been successful all these years because he represented values such as patriotism, family, and protecting nature. These values have been important to American families since his first appearance in 1944. Additionally, the simplicity of the message Smokey shares helps to keep him memorable and relevant. Lastly, the campaign always knew the appropriate audience to target, the best message to send, and the most popular channels to send it through so that most people in the target audience would view it. Smokey has changed throughout the years, but his message and values have stayed the same allowing him to stay relevant in popular culture.