Wednesday, 29 July 2015

A Bear For Safety

Hanna-Barbera characters were used in a variety of public safety campaigns in various media, especially after pressure groups in the late ‘60s complained about cartoons being too violent. Perhaps you’ve seen on-line an old animated anti-smoking PSA with Yogi, Boo Boo, and a bouncing, coughing head. And we’ve linked to a record from 1973 featuring short safety tips for kids from the H-B characters, accompanied by familiar music from Hoyt Curtin.

Below is a booklet called Bear Facts for Bike Drivers. It’s four pages, 8½ by 11, folded in half. It was made in cooperation with the California Highway Patrol, Valley Division, in Sacramento. Artist unknown, but it had to be someone at the studio.



The Valley News of Van Nuys, California explained how it was used in its edition of November 28, 1972:
BIKE SAFETY -- The California Highway Patrol has a new public service booklet out titled, "Bear Facts for Bike Drivers" featuring Yogi Bear. Concerned parents interested in safety-proofing young riders should urge them to visit the Bicycle Clinic Saturday from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. at the South Oaks Shopping Center, Soledad and White Canyon Roads, Canyon Country. The clinic will feature a skill test, vehicle inspection, education in basic safety procedures and laws, installation of reflectors as needed and provision for identification stickers and county licensing. Clinic sponsors include the California Highway Patrol, the Sheriff's Dept., the Automobile Club of Southern California, Santa Clarita Valley's two chambers of commerce plus fraternal and service groups. Honorary Mayors Tex Williams, Newhall Saugus Valencia, and Art Evans, Canyon Country, plus Honorary Sheriff Bob Ohler will he assisting with the clinic. Free hot dogs, soft drinks and entertainment will also be provided.
It would have been cool to have someone dressed up in a Yogi costume there, but it wasn’t a studio event. And Yogi would have been liable to steal all the hot dogs anyway.

Oh, and if you haven’t seen the anti-smoking PSA from 1968, here it is. The animator is revealed in the comments.

Posted by at 07:03
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7 comments:

  1. Anonymous29 July 2015 at 12:54

    That's Irv Spence.Definitely his style.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Craig Prior29 July 2015 at 13:41

    I remember this PSA from high school. Today as I watched it I thought, doesn't someone smoke their head off? And sure enough...

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  3. top_cat_james29 July 2015 at 15:02

    Judging by Yogi's facial expression and crossed leg pose in that last panel, I would suggest the traffic sign he should be most mindful of is COMFORT STATION AHEAD.

    Which I suppose begs the question: Does a Yogi Bear **** in the woods?

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  4. rodineisilveira29 July 2015 at 15:27

    Judging by the artwork, this folder shown above with Yogi Bear brings the art made by the legendary Harvey Eisenberg (the "Carl Barks from Hanna-Barbera").

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kid30 July 2015 at 03:31

    Back in the '60s, there was a smoking Yogi Bear on sale in toyshops (there was a monkey version also), and I think there may have been Flintstone ones too. Ironic, given Yogi's anti-smoking stance, eh?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Joe Torcivia31 July 2015 at 05:24

    Those first two Yogi illustrations – the ad and the cover – were by Harvey Eisenberg, but the interior illustrations were not. Certainly not the “crossed legs” one.

    As Eisenberg passed away about 1965, they must have been file stock images.

    Though that “guy in the convertible” really looks like classic H-B – both the guy and the car! It‘s just not Harvey Eisenberg.

    ReplyDelete

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