Gerald Hanks
How does a slogan for an anti-litter campaign become synonymous with a state’s attitude? It happened through a combination of state pride, creative marketing, and a willingness to push back against “buzz-cutted, conservative kind of characters.”
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In 1985, the Texas Department of Transportation was faced with a problem: how to get drivers to stop littering. TxDOT was spending more than $20 million a year to clean up the state’s highways. In those days, drivers would often throw their trash out the window, or let it pile up in the beds of pickup trucks until a gust of wind carried it down the road.
The Austin-based advertising firm GSD&M presented an aggressive stance in its ideas for the campaign. Instead of “Keep Texas Beautiful,” they went with a more confrontational slogan:
“Don’t Mess With Texas.”
The decision-makers at TxDOT hated it.
Tim McClure, one of the founders of GSD&M and one of the co-creators of the slogan, described the group as a bunch of “buzz-cutted, conservative kind of characters.” He jokingly estimated their average age to be 107.
McClure and his partner, Mike Blair, had to combat the desire on the part of some TxDOT board members to seek a less confrontational response.
“The ‘Keep Texas Beautiful’ lady said, ‘Can we at least say please?’ I said, ‘No ma’am, you cannot use the line if you put please in front of it.”
The first TV spots ran during the summer of 1986 and featured legendary guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. The ads would run through 1997 and include Texas musical legends ranging from Willie Nelson to Los Lonely Boys to Slim Thug. Athletes also took part in the campaign, including Dallas Cowboys legends Randy White and Ed “Too Tall” Jones, pitcher Andy Pettitte, and heavyweight champion George Foreman.
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The slogan became so popular that everyone from politicians to businesses to universities wanted to “borrow” it. TxDOT has sent over 100 cease and desist letters to various groups since 2000 for their use of the slogan.
When it comes to their most famous ad campaign, just like their roads, the best advice anyone can take is:
Don’t Mess With TxDOT.
