Prevent forest fires! Use the ash tray
Forest-fire prevention poster for motorists: a car dashboard with speedometer and an open ash tray, a large red arrow carrying a lit cigarette pointing into the tray, under a flame icon and the headline 'Prevent Forest Fires!'. The fear-appeal is faint: the flame icon implies the risk, and the sheet mostly gives an instruction.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1945
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, with State Forest Service (artist Giusti)
- 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
- Themes
- Home front, Security and surveillance
- 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. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1545 (NAID 515210).
Text on the object
PREVENT FOREST FIRES! Use the ash tray [dial numerals: 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100; odometer 203456] [signature: GIUSTI] U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service State Forest Service [imprint: U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1945—O—662407]
