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When it comes to safety, nothing beats a good slogan. Over the years, dozens of health and safety messages have come into popular culture, all designed to target a specific threat and educate the public 鈥� and make the lives of first responders a little bit easier on the margins.

How well do you know these slogans?

Fire safety slogans

Originating in 1944, this iconic Smokey Bear catchphrase is the Ad Council鈥檚 longest running campaign that continues to this day. The verbiage was updated in 2001 to replace 鈥渇orest fires鈥� with 鈥渨ildfires.鈥�

Prior to the creation of Smokey Bear, fire prevention messaging was promoted using Walt Disney鈥檚 characters from the movie Bambi, which premiered in 1942. However, the government was only authorized to use the character鈥檚 likeness in messaging for one year, prompting officials to come up with an original character. On Aug. 9, 1944, known as Smokey Bear鈥檚 birthday, the now-iconic fire service mascot was introduced to the public.

This directive is a classic fire safety slogan that emerged from the NFPA鈥檚 Learn Not to Burn program that originated in the 1970s.

Dick Van Dyke was famously used in public safety messaging to educate the public about the dangers of structure fires, what they should do in the event their own home catches fire, and how to extinguish a fire on their person.

This slogan was created after , and was promoted during Fire Prevention Week in 2018. Steve Kerber, vice president and executive director for FSRI, said the safety message is simple and easy for communities to understand and implement, making it an effective PSA: 鈥溾�楥lose Before You Doze鈥� focuses on straightforward actions and simple behavioral changes which can provide critical help in delaying the spread of fire. This doesn鈥檛 require major effort or going out and buying anything.鈥�

A campaign created through a decades-long partnership , the slogan reminds the public to check the battery in their smoke detectors twice a year when they change their clocks for Daylight Savings Time.

Law enforcement safety slogans

This , by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to remind residents to report suspicious activity. The MTA allowed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to use the slogan in July 2010 as part of a nationwide anti-terrorism campaign. It was also turned into a national day of awareness in 2018, recognizing September 25 as 鈥淪ee Something, Say Something鈥� Awareness Day, also known as #SeeSayDay.

First implemented in North Carolina in 1993, the was expanded nationwide in 2003 as an effective message to remind drivers that seat belt use saves lives. It is considered one of the most successful safety campaigns in preventing vehicle crash deaths, with seat belt use estimated at 92% in 2022.

Photo/NHTSA

Another widely recognized slogan, 鈥淔riends don鈥檛 let friends drive drunk鈥� was launched in 1990 through the Ad Council in partnership with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). Within in a year of the campaign going live, rates of alcohol-related fatalities declined by 10%.

In 2005, the to focus on the semantics used by people when justifying driving while under the influence: 鈥淏uzzed driving is drunk driving.鈥�

The new focus encourages 鈥測oung men 21 to 34 to examine their own warning signs of impairment and take responsibility for their decisions behind the wheel by reminding them: If you need to do something to make yourself feel okay to drive, you鈥檙e not okay to drive.鈥�

Launched in 1979, was created to encourage collaborative efforts to combat general lawbreaking with the iconic slogan: 鈥淭ake a bite out of crime.鈥�

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In the 1980s, McGruff focused on encouraging communities to create neighborhood watch programs and clean up parks and communal areas to deter criminal activity. During the 1990s, messaging pivoted to focus on the effects of gun violence on children, while current education is focused on 鈥渂ullying, cyberbullying, internet safety, telemarketing crime against seniors, identity theft, intellectual property theft and safe firearm storage.鈥�

EMS & public health slogans

With the goal of keeping first responders safe when working at roadway incidents, South Carolina in 1996 after Paramedic James D. Garcia was struck and injured while working a crash scene. By 2012, all 50 states had adopted similar laws.

Photo/NHTSA

The 鈥淪top the Bleed鈥� campaign was a White House initiative launched in October 2015 to encourage and empower bystanders to respond effectively during traumatic situations until professional help arrives. The campaign includes annual awareness days during EMS Week and year-round training throughout the country at the local level.

Learn more:

• What is 鈥楽top the Bleed鈥�?
• 9 solutions to help you Stop the Bleed
• On-demand webinar: When seconds count 鈥� Stop the bleed

Photo/Stop the Bleed

This catchy slogan was used in the U.S. from 1918-1920.

The global death toll from the 1918 pandemic was 50 million, with an estimated 500 million having been infected with the virus 鈥� roughly 33% of the world鈥檚 population at the time.

The same slogan was later used in Britain during World War II and to combat the H1N1 swine flu pandemic of 2009.

During the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in the U.S., the slogan was updated to 鈥淪top the spread鈥� to help slow the rate of transmission of the virus in order to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed with patients.

WEIGH IN | Did we miss an iconic public safety slogan? Send an email to editor@ems1.com and we can add it to the list.

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