Smokey Bear (also called Smokey the Bear) is the mascot of the U.S. Forest Service. He is also only semi-fictional, as he was based on a real orphaned bear cub also named Smokey.

Smokey Bear (also called Smokey the Bear) is an advertising mascot created to educate the US public about the dangers of forest fires. An advertising campaign featuring Smokey and the slogan "Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires" was created in 1944. Smokey Bear's later slogan, "Remember... Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires" was created in 1947 by the Advertising Council. In April 2001, the message was updated to "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires." According to the Ad Council, Smokey Bear and his message are recognized in the United States by 95% of adults and 77% of children.

In 1952, the songwriters Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins had a successful song named "Smokey the Bear". The pair said "the" was added to Smokey's name to keep the song's rhythm.[3] During the 1950s, that variant of the name became widespread both in popular speech and in print, including at least one standard encyclopedia.[4] A 1955 book in the Little Golden Books series was called Smokey the Bear and Smokey calls himself by this name in the book. It depicted Smokey as an orphaned cub rescued in the aftermath of a forest fire. From the beginning, Smokey's name was intentionally spelled differently from the adjective 'smoky'.