{"id":1494,"date":"2021-11-07T10:38:44","date_gmt":"2021-11-07T15:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/sycamore-stacks\/?p=1494"},"modified":"2025-07-29T11:56:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T15:56:39","slug":"meet-the-amazing-mascots-and-messengers-of-the-u-s-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/sycamore-stacks\/2021\/11\/07\/meet-the-amazing-mascots-and-messengers-of-the-u-s-government\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet The Amazing Mascots and Messengers of the U.S. Government"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/a>

Image courtesy of U.S. Forest Service.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Toot your hooters, Woodsy the Owl is 50 years old<\/a> this year! We would like to use this anniversary to highlight just a few of the many resources we have in the Government Information Connection at Sycamore Library related not just to Woodsy, but also to the rest of that sometimes delightfully weird menagerie of characters the U.S. government has created over the years to charm and educate the public.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Birth of Woodsy Owl<\/h2>\n

Woodsy Owl made his official debut on September 15, 1971. Ten years earlier, Rachel Carson\u2019s Silent Spring<\/em> had alerted the nation to the dangers of pesticides polluting the environment. Her book inspired a movement that increased throughout the 1960s, culminating in the first Earth Day celebration in 1970.<\/p>\n

The Forest Service wanted to join in promoting this anti-pollution message\u2014their Smokey Bear fire-prevention campaign had already succeeded beyond all expectations. But they didn\u2019t want to dilute Smokey\u2019s familiar slogan with a second message, so a new spokes-character was created: Woodsy, the anti-pollution owl. The two of them have continued to this day encouraging children and adults to protect the forests and all our natural surroundings.<\/p>\n

\"Woodsy<\/a>

Lady Bird Johnson meets Smokey and his new pal, Woodsy Owl. Courtesy U.S. Forest Service.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What Is a Government Mascot?<\/h2>\n

There have been animal mascots in the military academies and branches of the armed forces since before the twentieth century, and symbols such as the bald eagle, Columbia, and Uncle Sam have been used to personify the United States for even longer, but the first instance of a government agency using an anthropomorphized animal character to promote a cause was probably the Smokey Bear campaign, which started during World War II.<\/p>\n\"Smokey\n


World War Worries<\/h3>\n

As the Forest Service was losing manpower and equipment to the war effort, they needed a creative way to alert American citizens to the dangers of forest fires and to instill a sense of personal responsibility for protecting the forests.<\/p>\n

Previous attempts to communicate this message included this poster by “I Want You” designer James Montgomery Flagg, featuring a hectoring Uncle Sam:<\/p>\n\"James<\/a>\n


There were also posters featuring Bambi the deer, who was quite popular because of the recent movie, but was on loan by his owner Disney for only a year. The Forest Service needed a positive message delivered by a character they could call their own.<\/p>\n

The War Advertising Council<\/h3>\n

The nonprofit War Advertising Council had already been organized by American businesses and advertising professionals to promote the war effort through posters and other media. They encouraged Americans to buy war bonds, keep their lips sealed, and grow victory gardens. The Council assigned the advertising agency Foote, Cone and Belding the task of developing a forest fire prevention campaign using the same techniques that had been used to sell commercial products to consumers.<\/p>\n\"Because\"Don't<\/a>\"Plant<\/a>\n


Smokey Bear Is Not a Mascot<\/h3>\n

Eventually the discussions led to the idea of an anthropomorphized bear named Smokey, dressed as a Forest ranger and delivering a single, memorable slogan about fire prevention. The cuteness factor and the simplicity would appeal to both adults and children, and the use of anthropomorphism has been shown to help us identify on a personal level with a message that might otherwise seem abstract or remote.<\/p>\n\"Smokey\n


Smokey eventually acquired a vast and dazzling panoply of promotional paraphernalia. Not only was there Rudolph Wendelin<\/a>\u2019s familiar image of Smokey in his dungarees and ranger hat, brandishing a shovel; there were also posters, scripts, lesson plans, coloring books, and comic books; there was a song (that got his name wrong); there were toys, hats, t-shirts, buttons, bookmarks, and other swag, all to promote a single, laser-focused message: \u201cOnly you can prevent forest fires.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Smokey<\/a>\"Smokey<\/a>\"Smokey<\/a>\n


And make no mistake about it, it\u2019s all about the message. The Forest Service wants you to be aware that Smokey is not a mascot\u2014he is a \u201cfire prevention bear.\u201d Smokey has never been intended to personify the Forest Service the way other mascots might represent an entire agency or team.<\/p>\n\"Smokey\n


The Smokey Bear campaign was so successful that President Truman encouraged the Council to continue after the war as the Advertising Council (later shortened to the Ad Council). They would encourage advertising agencies to work pro bono to create public service advertisements, which would then be promoted for free in the newspapers, on the radio, and on the newly popular medium of television.<\/p>\n

Woodsy Owl was not a project of the Ad Council, but his campaign was modeled after Smokey Bear<\/span>\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>and shared some of the same personnel. Smokey\u2019s \u201ccaretaker,\u201d the artist Rud<\/a><\/span>y<\/span>\u00a0Wendelin, used his talents to give the preliminary sketches of Woodsy a distinct personality. Both characters wore pants and a hat, but nothing else<\/span>; b<\/span>oth had a ballad written about them<\/span>; a<\/span>n<\/span>d both generated a huge amount of swag<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\""Smokey<\/a>\"The<\/a>\n


Some Advertising Superstars<\/h2>\n

Other government agencies would develop their own mascots or messengers according to this same template, with varying degrees of success. Here are a few that for a time at least were very popular, widely-recognized icons in our cultural landscape:<\/p>\n

Johnny Horizon<\/h3>\n

Johnny Horizon<\/strong><\/a> was the Bureau of Land Management\u2019s anti-littering spokesman in a popular campaign that predated and then briefly competed with Woodsy Owl. He peaked during a clean-up campaign preceding the American Bicentennial in 1976, then was retired and forgotten everywhere except in Twin Falls County, Idaho, where the communities still celebrate Johnny Horizon Day every May.<\/p>\n\"A<\/a>\n


Mr. ZIP<\/h3>\n

In the 1960s, the U.S. Post Office Department used the character of Mr. ZIP<\/strong> in a popular campaign<\/a> to encourage people to use ZIP Codes on their mail. He was largely phased out after ZIP codes became accepted as the norm, but enjoyed a brief revival during the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of the ZIP code system in 2013. In his heyday he was recognized by 80 percent of Americans, and many of you probably still fondly remember him today.<\/p>\n\"MR.<\/a>\n


McGruff, the Crime Dog<\/h3>\n

In the late 1970s, the Ad Council partnered with the FBI to create an anthropomorphic animal character that, like Woodsy Owl, was deliberately modeled after Smokey Bear. The result was a hugely successful anti-crime campaign featuring McGruff the Crime Dog<\/strong><\/a> and his slogan \u201cTake a Bite Out of Crime.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Two-page<\/a>\n


Vince and Larry<\/h3>\n

In the late 1980s, the Ad Council partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation to create a humorous campaign featuring the crash test dummies Vince and Larry<\/strong> encouraging Americans to \u201cBuckle Up.\u201d The ads ran from 1985 through 1998, and in 2010 the Vince and Larry costumes and other related items were donated to the Smithsonian Institution<\/a>.<\/p>\n\"Vince<\/a>\n\"Poster<\/a>\n


The Fun, Freaky, and Forgotten<\/h2>\n

In contrast to these few hits, there are dozens of also-rans who for one reason or another did not quite capture the imagination or support of the public.<\/p>\n

Some of them have a certain whimsical appeal or strangeness that can inspire enthusiasm in those whose tastes run toward the bizarre. In some cases, they may even develop a cult audience.<\/p>\n

Freddy Food Stamp<\/h3>\n

Freddy Food Stamp<\/strong> was borrowed by the Food and Nutrition Service from the Mississippi Department of Public Welfare. He\u2019s little more than a rectangle with a face and limbs, but even had he been blessed with a great artist he would have become obsolete when the Food Stamp Program was replaced by SNAP.<\/p>\n\"Freddy<\/a>\n


Sprocket Man<\/h3>\n

Sprocket Man<\/strong> was a bicycle safety superhero adapted (some might say \u201cbowdlerized\u201d) by the Consumer Product Safety Commission<\/a> (CPSC) from a comic originally commissioned by Stanford University<\/a> and a local organization called the Urban Bikeway Design Collaborative. The entire comic was drawn by a Stanford student named Louis Saekow. Sprocket Man would probably have a cult following among bicyclists if the CPSC hadn\u2019t offended them by classifying adult bicycles as children’s toys<\/a>. The comic was reprinted several times with increasingly prissy modifications in each iteration.<\/p>\n\"Sprocket<\/a>\n


Thermy and BAC<\/h3>\n

Thermy<\/strong> the thermometer travels the country fighting his nemesis BAC<\/strong>\u00a0the bacterium while educating America on the many ways food can become contaminated. Thermy\u2019s catchy slogan is \u201cIt\u2019s safe to bite when the temperature is right!\u201d<\/p>\n\"detail\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In this family activity book, Thermy teaches principles of food safety with the help of three anthropomorphic friends: a pump bottle filled with soap, a cutting board, and a refrigerator. They represent the principles of cleaning, separating, cooking, and chilling in order to avoid food contamination.<\/p>\n\"Food<\/a>\n


Thirstin\u2019<\/h3>\n

Thirstin\u2019<\/strong> is quite literally a tall drink of water with a baseball cap. The EPA uses him to teach children about protecting and conserving drinking water.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

This unusually-shaped CD contains computer games, animations, and other activities that feature Thirstin’.<\/p>\n

\"CD<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Characters at NRCS<\/h3>\n

The Natural Resources Conservation Service<\/strong> has probably spawned more animal messengers than any other agency except the National Park Service, which seems to have a mascot for every individual national park. They include Sammy Soil<\/strong>\u200b, Mighty Mini Microbe<\/strong>\u200b (a rare female character), S.K. Worm<\/strong> (who when traveling is played by an animatronic puppet rather than a human being in costume), and the WhoBuddies<\/strong>\u2014a group of six environmentally conscious owl superheroes. \u00a0\u200b<\/p>\n\"Cover<\/a>\"Cover<\/a>
\"S.K.<\/a>\"Whobuddies\"<\/a>\n


Controversies<\/h2>\n

Government mascots and messengers may be fun and educational, but they have not been without controversy.<\/p>\n

Waste of Money<\/h3>\n

They are frequently seen as an extravagant waste of taxpayer money<\/a>. Little research has been done to show whether mascots are effective in promoting social change, and often their themes seem irrelevant to the interests of young children. Sometimes there seem to be way too many characters redundantly promoting the same message.<\/p>\n

Here are four different characters that have been used to teach children about water safety: Otto Otter, Bobber the Water Safety Dog, an anonymous safety pin, and an anonymous fish:<\/p>\n

\"Water<\/h2>\n


Unintended consequences<\/h3>\n

Smokey Bear\u2019s slogan was changed from \u201cOnly You can Prevent Forest Fires\u201d to \u201cOnly You Can Prevent Wildfires,\u201d not just to address the issue of wildfires that occurred in grasslands and other areas outside the forests, but because the Smokey campaign had led to a reduction of prescribed burns, which inadvertently made the forests even more susceptible to out-of-control wildfires.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Misleading or Manipulative<\/h3>\n

Most insidiously, the Ad Council has been accused of using their access to the media to push a pro-business agenda that is not always in the public interest.<\/p>\n

For example, emphasis on individual responsibility has been used to distract the public<\/a> from the more serious and deep-seated problems created by corporations and government policies. Encouraging individual citizens to pick up their trash does little to alleviate the problem of systemic pollution by industries, and does not address the issue of companies packaging everything in disposable containers.<\/p>\n

The Ad Council also played a major role in establishing the current perception of capitalism and free enterprise as an essential aspect of our American identity<\/a> while demonizing government regulations and other interventions in the economy by branding them as socialist tendencies that can only lead to communism and tyranny.<\/p>\n\"The<\/a>\n


Transformations<\/h2>\n

In order to maintain a mascot or messenger\u2019s popularity, they must be updated every once in a while to stay relevant to current concerns and to stay stylistically fresh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even the perennially popular\u00a0<\/span>Smokey Bear<\/span>\u00a0experienced a moment of self-doubt in\u00a0<\/span>the 1970<\/span>. One TV ad showed\u00a0<\/span>actress Joanna Cassidy imploring us in a sultry voice to be careful in the forest.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>At the end of the\u00a0<\/span>message<\/span>\u00a0she rips her face off and reveals herself to have been Smokey Bear in disguise.<\/span>\u00a0He chuckles and asks,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>If you had known it was me, w<\/span>ould\u00a0<\/span>y<\/span>ou\u00a0<\/span>h<\/span>ave\u00a0<\/span>l<\/span>istened?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n