Behind its celebrity-fronted campaign, the war cry of “Don’t Mess with Texas” has a trash-filled past — literally.
While Texans may see the phrase plastered on T-shirts, stickers and hats, the true meaning has slowly faded since the 1980s. That’s why a reader asked Curious Texas: “What’s the history of the phrase ‘Don’t Mess With Texas?’”
Littering is a huge problem in Texas, something state officials began realizing as cigarette butts and food wrappers piled up along the state’s highways. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, cleaning it all up cost more than $20 million each year in the mid-1980s and was expected to increase at least 15% every year.
To combat the waste, TxDOT contracted Mike Blair and Tim McClure of Austin-based advertising firm GSD&M with the goal of creating a campaign that cleaned up Texas.
McClure said problems arose as he and Blair tried to figure out what their audience, who believed littering was their right, would respond to. The duo knew the slogan would work only if it resonated with the one thing that might actually spur change: Texas pride.
After months of deliberation, they revealed the slogan “Don’t Mess with Texas.”
“I’m still known for it today, 37 years after I coined the tagline,” McClure said. “What we did is simply say that if you have pride in your own state, don’t litter, and it resonated with people. I think that pride is probably the secret to its success.”
The slogan — which catered to the target demographic of litterers, males ages 16 to 34 — clashed with the interests of the creators’ clients, who disliked the tough messaging and hoped for something closer to “Keep Texas Beautiful,” a campaign founded in 1967 with similar efforts to beautify Texas. While the difference in opinions caused some hesitation, Blair and McClure’s vision won out in the end.
“KTB is more on a local level and focuses more on actual litter cleanups,” said Becky Ozuna, a TxDOT employee who works with both campaigns now. “DMWT works very closely with them and helps to provide a lot of educational and training tools. The distinction is in the statewide education vs. the boots-on-the-ground action for local cleanup events.”
The Institute of Applied Research tracked a 72% decline in litter during Don’t Mess with Texas’ first six years. Not only had Blair and McClure won in the boardroom, but their campaign worked.