Has it really been 20 years since the Don’t Mess With Texas campaign first rolled out? Yes, it has, and to celebrate there will be a new series of ads with new celebrities.
The slogan has all but become the state motto, emblazoned on countless T-shirts and coffee mugs, chanted by liberals and conservatives alike when they disagree with the Legislature and invoked by then-Gov. George W. Bush when he faced criticism on the presidential campaign trail.
Because the Texas Department of Transportation has used different methods of counting litter throughout the years, it isn’t possible to say how much littering has decreased since the campaign began, said Doris Howdeshell, director of the department’s travel division.
But every time a study is done, less litter is found, she said. A study released earlier this month found 827 million pieces of litter had accumulated on Texas roadways in 2005, compared with 1.25 billion in 2001 — a 33 percent decrease.
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The ad campaign that begins on Monday reintroduces celebrities and adds the phrase “Real Texans don’t litter.” Four different public service announcements will air throughout the state.
Howdeshell hopes the new commercials remind people about the true message behind “Don’t Mess with Texas.” The department registered the slogan as a trademark in 2000 and has stepped up enforcement to protect it, sending out cease-and-desist letters to groups such as the University of Texas, which sold T-shirts bearing the phrase.
While that led to some ribbing by Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart, Howdeshell said it’s important for people to know “Don’t Mess with Texas” is more than a macho motto.
“We’re proud the campaign has produced such good results for Texas, and the fact that it’s become a part of pop culture is just an added bonus,” she said. “We just want to make sure everyone knows ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ means don’t litter.”
A later version of this story explains the reason for this.
Despite the decline in litter, however, recent studies reveal that about 55 percent of 1,200 Texans surveyed in October admitted to littering and most of them were under the age of 25, according to the department.
The survey also revealed that though most Texans have heard the slogan “Don’t Mess with Texas,” only 71 percent know that it means “don’t litter.”
I can believe that. Link via Houstonist, who has more.
My inspiration “is more than a macho motto?” I might have to rethink my pseudonym.
The department registered the slogan as a trademark in 2000 and has stepped up enforcement to protect it, sending out cease-and-desist letters to groups such as the University of Texas, which sold T-shirts bearing the phrase.
Here is an excerpt from an MSNBC news article on TxDOT’s actions:
Emphasis added. Naturally, it raised my eyebrow that TxDOT would go after TARAL – especially considering the latter was using a parody of the slogan, rather than the slogan itself. Shades of Fox News v. Franken! You don’t suppose their motivation might’ve had more to do with abortion politics than with preserving the slogan’s anti-littering message, do you?
ironic really…
a protected anti-littering slogan
in a state unprotected
with “voluntary” environmental laws
and increasing pollution
government by PR again…