NEW advertising will give Americans an opportunity to be hugged by a federal employee — a big furry one, no less.

Smokey Bear, who has been appearing since 1944 in public service fire prevention campaigns under the aegis of the nonprofit Advertising Council, is getting a makeover in a new campaign that replaces a computer-generated look he received about five years ago with a more vintage appearance of a large bear, or perhaps a person in an impressive bear costume.

The ads also give Smokey’s role and persona a makeover. Although the campaign still declares “Only you can prevent wildfires” — the wording was changed from “forest fires” in 2001 — Smokey is changing from a teacher or authority figure into a paragon of positive reinforcement. To underscore the shift, Smokey will now hug people in the wilderness who demonstrate they know how to avoid causing fires.