It’s camping season and unfortunately with that the increased risk of forest fires from poorly attended camp fires. Good thing when I was a little girl there was Smokey Bear to teach me and you- how to prevent forest fires. Not only was Smokey around when I was a little girl, he’s actually been around since 1944. That’s right Smokey Bear is 65 this year! Hopefully he won’t be retiring anytime soon, because I heard being on social security is for the birds.
I don’t hear too much about Smokey Bear as of late, I am not sure my children would even recognize Smokey. Maybe the problem is there aren’t any current toy tie in’s with old Smokey. Children seem to have a better memory for characters when there is a toy tied to the character. I am pretty sure this is a law of marketing.
Let’s take a look at a vintage Smokey Bear Tonka set from 1972. With this set we have our character- which is Smokey Bear and the Tonka truck. This is a great combination- bears and heavy machinery!
Let’s get a closer look… did you see it comes with a Little Golden Book and iron-on patches. That’s really cool- I love Little Golden Books and you can’t do seventies without iron-on patches.
I like how the advertising copy reads for GIRLS and boys, from 3 to 7 years old. That’s pretty cool for the seventies Tonka marketing machine to not leave girls out. When I was little, I didn’t know a girl alive who wasn’t fascinated by digging in the dirt with a big, yellow TONKA truck. Here it is almost 40 years later- and I am digging this set right now. Maybe they meant helps girls and boys 3 to 37 appreciate life in the forest. I could really see myself tearing up the garden with a Smokey Bear Tonka set. (Note to family- a certain 37 year old did not get everything she wanted last week for her birthday… she would like more vintage toys,)
Isn’t that a great set- I know you want it too. I also know you want to hear those famous words now… You are waiting for Smokey Bear to say “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires.” This video is from 1977 and not only features Smokey, but Thumper and Bambi as well.
Too bad Smokey’s legs are fused together. I guess he’ll need some lessons from Tigger on how to hop around!
WHY ON EARTH WOULD A BEAR WANT TO HOP???? I would hate to be mauled by a bear that hops out of trees!!!
Oh My goodness! I have not even thought about Smokey Bear is FOREVER. I remember when I was child he did all the commercials on how to prevent Forest Fires!
Aww…..
*heads down memory lane*
> WHY ON EARTH WOULD A BEAR WANT
> TO HOP???? I would hate to be mauled by
> a bear that hops out of trees!!!
Mauled? Whatcha talkin’ ’bout? Didn’t you learn nothin’ from ol’ Smokey? Smokey the Bear teaches children that bears are friendly and care about the forests.
You and I both know Smokey is not a vegetarian.. didn’t he star in the 1976 movie Grizzly otherwise known as Killer Grizzly. I heard he did that movie because he was low on money.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074593/
Gee Whiz where do you find this stuff…it’s great!
Deborah- If I tell you I have to drive you out to the woods and leave you with the hopping bears…
That’s a lot of responsibility he gave me there at the end of that advert!
Jenny- it’s even weirder to think about when you are 5 years old… “only you can prevent forest fires.” It is kind of a strange motto or catch phrase for fire safety, but who is going to argue with a bear?
One other thing- do they have Smokey in the UK? Just curious?
If Smokey could get a deal with either McDonald’s or Burger King, maybe even Wendy’s, then I betcha all the kids would know who he was. He needs to make an animated movie. Yup – that’d do it. That actually was a really decent playset though – the action figures, vehicle, AND patches. You don’t get values like that these days. Now every item is separate and expensive!
An animated movie would be good or one of those real movies with a cgi smokey bear. It would be action packed- he is a renegade mountain firefighter who learns that terrorists are planning to set massive fires in several areas at once to disrupt the economy and wreak havoc. His young son Smokey Jr is captured by them when they learn Smokey knows their plot to devastate America. There are cameo’s of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris and nonstop, heart pounding action.
Can a washed up 65 year old bear, be enough to stop the terrorist arsonists?
AMERICA’S LAST HOPE IS SMOKEY BEAR!!!!
“FANGS OF FURY” – terrorists beware…. coming soon to a theater near you.
No, this is the first time I’ve met Smokey – we don’t really have many forests to set on fire round here, so I guess his time is best spent with you guys! I wonder if they him in Australia.
Smokey Bear is the U.S. Forest Service’s mascot, so I bet he’s not in other countries. Despite being a U.S. government creation, he’s not in the public domain. He’s protected by the Smokey Bear Act of 1952.
Remember, only you can prevent florist friars!
“FANGS OF FURY” – No, that would never work in this day and age. If Hollywood were to make a movie involving Smokey Bear, he’d no doubt be warning against the dangers of the internal combustion engine and how his cousin the polar bear was going to become extinct if we don’t replace our safe light bulbs with mercury-laden death traps. The villain of the film would not be terrorists but mom or dad’s office where they have a computer and printers that use paper and kills trees. Then Smokey will tell children how they have to use recycled paper, even though that takes more energy and creates more pollution that gets dumped in the water stream, but that’ll be Sonny the Salmon’s problem, so Smokey will look the other way on that.
Jenny- I didn’t think you all had heard about Smokey since he is more of a public service announcement icon (like selling war bonds etc) as opposed to a cartoon character. I had no idea there are no forests there though?
Dan- your movie version is produced by Al Gore right?
It’s great that you wrote about Smokey! It sure brings back memories. I’m sure this set is a collector’s item.
I don’t think they advertise him as much as they should. It’s important to hear about the lessons from Smokey. Do kids even know who Smokey is now-a-days?
No, that was misleading – we do have forests – just not that many. What I should have said is that I can’t imagine something like Smokey being a national campaign because it would only be relevant to a small section of the population.
Lookout! It’s Smokey Bear! Run, Forrest, run! LOL!
Hi Rolando thanks for dropping by. I’ll have to keep my eyes out this summer to see if any new Smokey commercials are run on tv. I do know my children have no idea who Smokey is.
Jenny- don’t worry I don’t feel like you misled me. I will feel duped if I was a nominated for a blog award and then had to pay $300 for a ticket… ;0) Still blows my mind. I suppose there are no forests in London and as for the rest of the UK – I just picture misty marshes where the hound of the Baskervilles and spooky ghosts roam at night looking for lost American tourists.
Dan- I didn’t care for Forrest at all, but even I would feel bad if a mentally challenged freak like Forrest got ate by a bear. Maybe the bear is chasing him to get the box of chocolates.
Life is about getting chased by bears because you are left holding the box of chocolates…
Yep, it’s exactly like that
Ohhhh … my favorite! I used to drive up to Dad’s chair and put out his pipe, then fine hime 1000 dollars for dangering my forest.
Did your Dad cough up the $1000, because if he did I could use another Dad?
Does anyone happen to know the value of this Smokey The Bear toy set. I have one and am curious
Brenda- one sold recently on eBay for about $230 – depending on what is in the set more or less. I looked it up on eBay today and did not see any sets, I imagine this set is pretty rare and probably pretty desirable.