Don't Mess With Texas

The fascinating story behind the famous slogan

Hi there!

Thank you for the comments, shares, and messages you sent me after last week’s story about fake quotes.

My goal with Curious Minds has always been to entertain you — or make you think. Sometimes both.

And today’s story is one that I hope makes you think and entertains you!

Do you buy souvenirs when you’re on vacation?

Whenever I travel, I always buy a magnet.

I haven’t figured out a classy way to display them, so most of them sit in a box, but I keep collecting them!

And on a recent trip to Texas, this was the magnet I bought:

When I got back to London and showed it to my kids (who have only ever lived in London), they asked what it meant.

“People from Texas are proud of being from Texas,” I told them.

But I didn’t know where the slogan originated.

And I was curious…

The story of “Don’t Mess with Texas” goes back to the 1980s when Texas had, well… a mess.

Litter was all over the state’s highways, and the Texas Department of Transportation was spending $20 million each year picking up trash littered around the state.

And, because everything is bigger in Texas, the amount of litter kept growing – as did the cost to clean it up.

The Department of Transportation needed to do something about this, so they hired GSD&M, an Austin-based advertising agency, to come up with a solution.

Ad man Tim McClure and his colleagues had been trying to come up with a clever slogan to address the state’s litter problem.

Ad man Tim McClure

Most of their ideas included the word “litter.”

But that word – “litter” – was the problem.

It just wasn’t something Texans said.

Then, during an early morning walk, inspiration struck McClure.

Looking around his neighborhood, he noticed the trash surrounding him. 

Cans. Bottles. Plastic Cups. Paper.

“This is a mess,” he thought to himself.

Mess.

That’s how his mother had described his childhood bedroom.

“Don’t litter in Texas” wasn’t going to connect with Texans.

But “Don’t mess with Texas” might.

McClure and his associates pitched the slogan to their client.

The folks at the Department of Transportation….weren’t so convinced.

“Couldn’t you add the word ‘please’ at the end?” one of them asked.

After seeing a preview of the first advertisement another executive responded, “Well, I don’t think I like it.”

But McClure and his colleagues stood firm, and eventually convinced the Department of Transportation that this slogan would connect with Texans.

Armed with research that showed men between ages 16 and 24 were the biggest littering culprits, McClure and his colleagues focused their efforts on reaching young men.

They left bumper stickers that said “Don’t mess with Texas” at fast food restaurants and truck stops, where they were sure to be seen by the target audience.

But interestingly, there was no logo or other indication that this was a campaign by the Texas Department of Transportation.

Just four simple words, and the red, white, and blue of the Texas flag.

“We thought the way to get it into the public’s consciousness quickest was to let Texans own it,” McClure said. 

“I don’t think they would have put something that said ‘Don’t Litter Texas’ or ‘Don’t Trash our State.’

“But because it had that Texas bravado to it, they adopted ‘Don’t mess with Texas’ as their battle cry.” 

On New Year’s Day 1986, the “Don’t mess with Texas” campaign officially launched.

During the 50th annual Cotton Bowl, the anti-littering message was shared in a 30-second commercial starring Texas blues musician Stevie Ray Vaughan.

The commercial showed Vaughan seated in front of a huge Texas flag, strumming a guitar playing The Eyes of Texas (the same tune as I’ve Been Working on the Railroad).

As Vaughan played the guitar, a narrator reminded the audience that each year it cost $20 million to pick up trash along the state’s highways, and that “messing with Texas” was not just a crime – it was an insult to the Lone Star State.

The spot ended with Vaughan commanding, “Don’t mess with Texas.”

The commercial was a hit – so much so that people were calling their local television station asking for the “music video” that played during the Cotton Bowl.

McClure and his colleagues released four more commercials that year, starring various singers and athletes, who helped spread the word.

And the campaign worked.

People stopped messing with Texas.

Litter on the road reduced 29 percent the next year, and was down 54 percent the following year. 

By 1990, litter in Texas had reduced 72 percent from 1986.

Texans knew the slogan – as well as its connection to an anti-littering campaign.

It has been an effective anti-littering message – and a rallying cry of Texas pride.

In 2002 the Texas Department of Transportation trademarked “Don’t mess with Texas” and began receiving royalties from others using it.

And while some people may not know the slogan’s connection to an anti-littering campaign, plenty of people outside of Texas know not to mess with Texas.

“Don’t mess with Texas” is such a popular slogan that in 2006, it won the Advertising Walk of Fame’s contest for favorite slogan, beating well-known competitors including “Just Do It” and “Got Milk?” by a landslide.

“Don’t mess with Texas” has continued to be shared over the last four decades with ads featuring famous Texans like Willie Nelson, Matthew McConaughey, and Leann Rimes.

And from Texas universities to gift shops, you can still find plenty of “Don’t mess with Texas” merchandise, from magnets and mugs to T-shirts and bumper stickers.

Tim McClure (left) and Roy Spence display their book, Don’t Mess with Texas: The Story Behind the Legend

In their 2006 book Don’t Mess with Texas: The Story Behind the Legend, ad men McClure and Roy Spence chronicle the campaign’s history, and what we can learn from it.

“There are a lot of lessons to be learned from Don’t mess with Texas,” they wrote, “but perhaps the most significant one is this: 

“When it comes to persuading people to do the right thing, communication is often a more effective tool than simply passing more laws.”

---

One more thing…

In 1985, the Texas Department of Transportation had another great idea to tackle their litter problem: enlisting volunteers to help keep stretches of their state highways clean. 

More than 3400 groups today are helping keep Texas beautiful by keeping 2-mile stretches of the state’s highways free of litter.

What began as the Texas “Sponsor A Highway” campaign paved the way (no pun intended) for the Adopt-A-Highway program, which now runs across the US and in several other countries. 

**Many thanks to Tim McClure for kindly helping with this story!

---

Recent Work and Writing

Pop culture continues to inspire — and remind us how important communication skills are!

This Apology Is Not Worth $78 ? — Columnist David Brooks is #sorrynotsorry for misleading people about the cost of a meal at Newark Airport.

A Lesson on Apologies from Drew Barrymore — Drew got herself into some hot water, and then got out of it (sort of).

The Communication Lesson Joe Jonas Needs to Learn — Oh Joe, I wasn’t a Sucker for your PR campaign.

---

How Can I Help?

I’ll keep saying it: Communication matters.

(Just ask Tim and the Texans!)

And if you want to improve your communication (and get all the good things that come with that), I’m your gal.

So many companies could reap significant benefits – from performance and culture to retention and engagement – by improving their communication.

So, if you know someone who could benefit from some help (as even the most seasoned leaders do), please get in touch and check out my website for more information.

You can also see my Top 10 list of what I can (and can’t) do for you here.

And if you see any communication examples (the good, the bad, and the ugly) that you think are worth analyzing or sharing, please send them my way!

Until next time, Stay Curious!

-Beth