Please, Mister, don't be careless. Prevent forest fires. Greater danger than ever!
Colour poster of a cartoon deer with a rabbit and a skunk in tall grass, the animals looking worried, under the words 'Please, Mister, don't be careless' and 'Prevent forest fires - Greater danger than ever!'. The technique is transfer: well-known film animal characters lend their appeal to a fire-safety message, with a mild fear-appeal in the closing line.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, with State Forest Service
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Theme
- Home front
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, with State Forest Service. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1521 (NAID 515187).
Text on the object
Please, Mister, DON'T BE CARELESS [printed beside the animals: (c) WALT DISNEY PROD] PREVENT FOREST FIRES Greater danger than ever! U. S. Dept. Agriculture Forest Service State Forest Service [imprint: U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1943--O-560734]
