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Smokey Bear Wildfire Awareness Sweepstakes - Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

The Smokey Bear Wildfire Awareness Sweepstakes (the “Sweepstakes”) starts on May 7, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends on May 14, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET (“Sweepstakes Period”). Entries not received within the Sweepstakes Period will be void. 

ELIGIBILITY: Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, 18 years of age or older as of date of entry eligibility. Employees of The Ad Council, Inc. (“Sponsor”), their subsidiaries, distributors, affiliates, prize providers, promotion and advertising agencies, and members of their immediate family (spouse and parent, children and siblings and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and persons living in the same household, whether or not related, of such employees, are not eligible to enter or win. If you have received a prize from Sponsor within the past six (6) months in connection with another Sponsor promotion, you are not eligible to participate in this Sweepstakes or receive a prize. Void where prohibited by law. Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws. This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Meta platforms, Inc., Facebook, or Instagram.

HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Sweepstakes, you'll first need to become a registered user of www.Facebook.com (“Facebook”) or www.Instagram.com (“Instagram”) or log into your Facebook or Instagram account. If you do not have an account, go to www.Facebook.com or www.Instagram.com to create one. Facebook and Instagram accounts are free. By submitting your information and creating a Facebook or Instagram account, you agree to Facebook’s or Instagram’s Terms of Use and Privacy Notice. If you do not agree to such Terms of Use and Privacy Notice, you cannot create a Facebook or Instagram account, or participate in this Sweepstakes.        

During the Sweepstakes Period, there are two (2) ways to enter:

  1. Facebook: Visit the Smokey Bear Official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/smokeybear, like the page, and locate the Sweepstakes post. To receive an entry into the Sweepstakes, an eligible entrant (“Entrant”) must follow the Smokey Bear page on Facebook, like the sweepstakes post, comment with a wildfire prevention tip you learned from Smokey Bear with “#sweepstakesentry” and tag a friend.
  2. Instagram: Visit the Smokey Bear Official Instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/smokeybear, follow the page, and locate the Sweepstakes post. To receive an entry into the Sweepstakes, an eligible entrant (“Entrant”) must like the sweepstakes post, comment with a wildfire prevention tip you learned from Smokey Bear with “#sweepstakesentry” and tag a friend.

Facebook page comments or Instagram feed comments will hereafter be collectively referred to as “Entries,” each an “Entry.” The content of your Entry will not be judged and will therefore not increase or decrease your chances of winning a Prize. All Entries must be received by May 14, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET to be considered. Entries generated by script, macro or other automated means and entries by any means which subvert the entry process are void. Limit of one (1) entry per person, per entry method for a total of two (2) entries throughout the Sweepstakes Period. You may only use one (1) social media channel account or email address to enter the Sweepstakes. Any entries received from any person or social media account in excess of the limitation stated above will be void. 

COMMENT REQUIREMENTS: All Comments must comply with the following restrictions:

  • Comments must be suitable for publication (i.e., may not be obscene or indecent);
  • Comments cannot feature trademarks, logos or trade dress owned by any third party, or advertise or promote any brand or product of any kind, other than Sponsor’s;
  • Comments cannot contain copyrighted materials owned by others (including photographs, sculptures, paintings and other works of art or images);
  • Comments cannot include the name, likeness, photograph, or other indicia identifying any person, living or dead, without permission from that person, excluding tagging another user solely for purposes of entry;
  • Comments cannot be sexually explicit or suggestive, violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group;
  • Comments cannot promote use of illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing), any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous, or any particular political agenda or message;
  • Comments cannot describe or depict any illegal activity or violation of any state or federal law;
  • Comments must not include any personally identifiable information (full name, e-mail address, telephone number, etc.);
  • Comments must not contain, facilitate, reference or use material that contains prohibited content which shall include, but is not limited to content that promotes, suggests, or encourages:
    • gambling, including without limitation, any content related to online casinos, sports books, bingo or poker;
    • the use of prostitution, pornography, nudity, profanity or other adult content, or violence;
    • the taking up of arms against any person, government or entity or otherwise challenge or seek to overthrow any government;
  • Comments must not contain any viruses, spyware, malware, or other malicious components that are designed to harm the functionality of a computer in any way.
  • Comments must comply with all Facebook and Instagram rules and requirements.
  • Comments must include “#sweepstakesentry”

The Sponsor reserves the right to reject any Entry, which Sponsor determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, does not meet the above criteria or is otherwise offensive or is not in keeping with the Sponsor’s image and reputation. Sponsor reserves the right to remove any Entry without prior notice.

Entry must be in English, be responsive to the Sweepstakes call-to-action, be the original work of the entrant, may not have been previously published, may not have won previous awards, and must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity. If the Entry contains any material or elements that are not owned by the entrant, and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, the entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the Entry, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the use and exhibition of the Entry by Sponsor in the manner set forth in these Official Rules, including, without limitation, name and likeness permissions from any person or any third-party who is identifiable in an Entry. Sponsor reserves the right to request proof of these permissions in a form acceptable to Sponsor from any entrant at any time. Failure to provide such proof may, if requested, render Entry null and void. By submitting an Entry, entrant warrants and represents that he/she and the person or third-party who is identifiable in the Entry consent to the submission and use of the Entry in the Sweepstakes and to its use as otherwise set forth herein.

By submitting an entry, entrant hereby grants permission for the entry to be posted on Facebook, Instagram or other Sponsor websites. Entrant agrees that Released Parties (as defined in General Conditions) are not responsible for any unauthorized use of entries by third parties. Released Parties do not guarantee the posting of any entry and may remove any posted entry at any time.

RANDOM DRAWING: Twenty-Five (25) Prize Winners will be selected in a random drawing on or about May 15, 2026, from all eligible entries received throughout the Sweepstakes Period. Odds of winning a prize depend on the number of eligible entries received throughout the Sweepstakes Period. 

WINNER NOTIFICATION: On or about May 18, 2026, the potential winners will be notified by a reply comment from @smokeybear on the potential winner’s comment stating that he/she is a potential winner and requesting that he/she send a direct message to @smokeybear, asking for instructions on how to claim the Prize.  The Sponsor will then provide instructions to the potential winner upon receipt of the direct message from the potential winner. The potential winner will have three (3) days to reply to the message with a direct message to @smokeybear. The Prize will be shipped directly to the confirmed winner’s home.  Allow 4-6 weeks after the verification of eligibility for delivery of a Prize. Sponsor & Others are not responsible for any delay in the delivery of the Prize.

PRIZES: Twenty-five (25) prize winners will each receive a Smokey Bear plushie. The Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of each prize is: $16.95. Total ARV of all prizes: $423.75

PRIZE CONDITIONS: Sponsor does not endorse, guarantee, or warrant any prize. Prizes are awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by Sponsor (including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose). Winners may not substitute, assign or transfer a prize (or any portion thereof), or redeem a prize for cash (including any part of a prize rejected by winner, if any); however, Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize (or portion thereof) with one of comparable or greater value in its sole discretion. All federal, state and local taxes, and any other charges and incidental costs associated with prize acceptance and use not specified herein as being provided are the sole responsibility of the winners. The Prize is not redeemable for cash; nor are they transferable or substitutable except that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may substitute the Prize or a component thereof with one of equal or greater value. Sponsor has no responsibility for a winner’s inability to accept or utilize his/her respective Prize. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify and randomly select an alternate potential winner in the event that: (a) a potential winner is unreachable; (b) the Prize notification direct message is returned as undeliverable or is not responded to; (c) a potential winner fails  to provide Sponsor with satisfactory proof of age, identity and residency; (d) a potential winner declines acceptance of the Prize; or (e) if in Sponsor’s determination, a potential winner has not complied with these Official Rules. All prize details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion.

The Prize will be awarded provided there are a sufficient number of eligible entries; however, Sponsor will make no more than three (3) attempts to award the Prize. If after three (3) such good faith attempts, Sponsor is unable to award the Prize; the Prize will not be awarded.

GENERAL CONDITIONS:  By participating, each entrant agrees: (a) to abide by these Official Rules and decisions of Sponsor, which shall be final and binding in all respects relating to this Sweepstakes; (b) to release, discharge and hold harmless Sponsor, Meta Platforms, Inc., any prize providers, and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, distributors, and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the forgoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from entrant’s participation in the Sweepstakes or any Sweepstakes-related activity or the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of the prize; and (c) to the use of his/her name, voice, performance, photograph, caption, entry, and/or likeness for programming, advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in any and all media, now or hereafter known, worldwide and on the Internet, and in perpetuity by Sponsor and its designees, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents from entrant or any third party and without prior notice, approval or inspection, and to execute specific consent to such use. By participating, entrant also agrees not to release any publicity or other materials on their own or through someone else regarding their participation in the Sweepstakes without the prior consent of the Sponsor, which it may withhold in its sole discretion. Any personally identifiable information collected during an entrant's participation in this Sweepstakes will be collected by Sponsor and used by Sponsor and its agents solely for purposes of the proper administration and fulfillment of the Sweepstakes as described in these Official Rules or as stated in Sponsor's Privacy Policy at https://www.adcouncil.org/privacy-policy.

MISCELLANEOUS: Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, misdirected, undelivered, or garbled Entries, or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Sweepstakes, the processing of Entries, the announcement of the prizes, or in any Sweepstakes-related materials. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Sweepstakes.  Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to any person's computer related to or resulting from participating in this Sweepstakes or downloading materials from or use of the website. Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Sweepstakes or website, who act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or who are in violation of these Official Rules, as solely determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified and all associated entries will be void. Should any portion of the Sweepstakes be, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, compromised for any reason, including virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play, or submission of Entries, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Sweepstakes (or portion thereof) and, if terminated, at its discretion, select the potential winners from among all non-suspect, eligible entries received prior to action taken. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK ANY AND ALL REMEDIES AVAILABLE FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND CHOICE OF LAW: Issues concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules shall be governed by the laws of the State of Michigan. All disputes arising out of or connected with this Sweepstakes will be resolved individually, and without resort to class action, exclusively by the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan or the appropriate Michigan State Court located in Oakland County, Michigan. Should there be a conflict between the laws of the State of Michigan and any other laws, the conflict will be resolved in favor of the laws of the State of Michigan. All judgments or awards shall be limited to actual incurred out-of-pocket expenses (excluding attorneys' fees) associated with participation in this Sweepstakes and shall not include any indirect, punitive, incidental and/or consequential damages.

REQUEST FOR WINNERS’ NAMES: For the names of the Sweepstakes winners (available after May 31, 2026) send a self-addressed, stamped, envelope by June 30, 2026, to: Smokey Bear Wildfire Awareness Sweepstakes Winners, 280 Daines Street, Suite 200, Birmingham, MI 48009. Requests must be received ninety (90) days after the winners are chosen.  Any requests received after that date, will not be honored.

SPONSOR: The Ad Council, Inc., 815 Second Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10017