Editing Don't Mess with Texas (section)

== History ==
[[File:SSN775Logo.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The crest for the submarine [[USS Texas (SSN-775)|USS ''Texas'']]. The phrase "Don't Mess with Texas!" can be seen on the lower half of the crest.]]
In 1985 the TxDOT asked Mike Blair and Tim McClure of [[GSD&M Idea City|GSD&M]] to create a slogan for an anti-littering campaign. At the time the state of Texas spent about $20 million annually to clean litter from highways. McClure said that "bubbas in pickup trucks" who regularly littered beer cans and other items out of vehicle windows and ordinary Texans who believed that littering was a "God-given right" were targets of the advertising campaign. McClure said that he created the slogan when he saw garbage while walking near his house. Emanuella Grinberg of ''[[CNN]]'' said that McClure had "an eleventh hour 'aha' moment" when, after looking at the trash, he recalled his mother telling him that his room was messy. "McClure said 'It occurred to me that the only time I'd heard the word litter was in reference to dogs. Mess seemed like it would resonate better.'"<ref name="Grinberg1">Grinberg, Emanuella. "Why there's no messing with Texas." [[CNN]]. July 1, 2011. [http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/01/texas.pride/index.html 1]  . Retrieved on July 3, 2011.</ref> McClure's slogan is believed to be the first written use of "Don't mess with Texas", although there are earlier uses of "Don't mess with..." such as the 1966 Marvelette's song "[[Don't Mess with Bill]]".

The creators initially had difficulty convincing TxDOT to adopt the slogan. The creators said that the administrators were "buzz-cutted, conservative kind of characters." The creators joked that the board members' average age was 107. McClure recalled that "The crowd was sprinkled with 'Keep America Beautiful' and 'Keep Texas Beautiful' folks, and our audience is 18-to-24 young males." McClure added that "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.'  If not for the vision of Don Clark, the then Director of Travel and Information Division of the Texas Highway Department, the slogan would have never been used.  Clark went ahead with the slogan without the support of the TxDOT administrators.  After the first televised ad with Stevie Ray Vaughan aired, Clark jokes that he went to work the next day and was unsure if he would be fired.  TxDOT decided to ask the public for comment and there was a resounding positive result."<ref name="Grinberg2">Grinberg, Emanuella. "Why there's no messing with Texas." ''[[CNN]]''. July 1, 2011. [http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/01/texas.pride/index.html 2]  . Retrieved on July 3, 2011.</ref>

The campaign began in 1985 with a series of bumper stickers. In 1986 the slogan premiered its first television advertisement, featuring [[Stevie Ray Vaughan]], at the 50th Annual [[Cotton Bowl Classic]] on January 1, 1986, singing the "[[The Eyes of Texas|Eyes of Texas]]" with the line "Don't Mess with Texas" added at the end of the song.<ref name="Grinberg1"/> Since then, numerous musicians, athletes, celebrities and other famous Texans have appeared in "Don't Mess with Texas" radio and television [[public service announcement]]s, including:

{{div col|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Lance Armstrong]]
*[[Asleep at the Wheel]]
* [[Erykah Badu]]
* [[Marcia Ball]]
*[[Joe Carrasco|Joe "King" Carrasco]]
*Johnny Dee and the Rocket 88's
*[[Joe Ely]]
*[[The Fabulous Thunderbirds]]
*[[George Foreman]]
*[[Tish Hinojosa]]
* [[Los Lonely Boys]]
* [[Jennifer Love Hewitt]]
*[[Lyle Lovett]]
*[[Billy Mays]]
*[[Matthew McConaughey]]
*[[Warren Moon]]
*[[Willie Nelson]]
* [[Slim Thug]]
*[[Andy Pettitte]]
*[[LeAnn Rimes]]
* [[Shamu (SeaWorld show)|Shamu]] & the Texas Tuxedos
*[[Stevie Ray Vaughan]]
* [[Jerry Jeff Walker]]
*[[George Strait]]
* [[Owen Wilson]]
* [[Chuck Norris]]
* [[Papi Chulo]]
* [[Whitney K Lane]]
* [[Morgan Fairchild]]
* [[Chamillionaire]]
* [[Black Pumas]]
* [[Joe Jonas]]
* [[Ethan Hawke]]
{{div col end}}

In a 12-year period with the agency GSD&M, over 26 television spots appeared.<ref name="Grinberg1"/>

Due to the budget cuts of the [[Great Recession]], TxDOT has expanded the use of the licence to sell "Don't Mess With Texas" related souvenirs in "state run rest areas, and travel information centers" in order to fill in its budget gaps. Until 2012, the organization was forbidden to do so due to federal regulations.<ref>{{cite news|last=Batheja|first=Aman|title=TxDOT Hoping 'Don't Mess With Texas' Provides More Cash|url=http://smmercury.com/2013/09/23/txdot-hoping-dont-mess-with-texas-provides-more-cash/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131229210331/http://smmercury.com/2013/09/23/txdot-hoping-dont-mess-with-texas-provides-more-cash/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=December 29, 2013|access-date=29 December 2013|newspaper=San Marcos Mercury|date=23 September 2013}}</ref>

After learning that 96% of Texans had heard the phrase "Don't mess with Texas" but only 61% of Texans knew the slogan meant don't litter, TxDOT began brainstorming new campaign ideas to re-emphasize the original meaning of the campaign. In 2009, TxDOT launched a new campaign including new TV and radio featuring [[George Strait]] telling Texans that "Don't mess with Texas means don't litter". This slogan is still used in all of the campaigns and radio ads.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dontmesswithtexas.org/about/history/ | title=Home }}</ref>

As of 2023, the San Antonio, Texas-based advertising agency, [https://www.gdc-co.com/ GDC Marketing & Ideation] manages the "Don't mess with Texas" brand.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dontmesswithtexas.org/dmwt_press/dont-mess-with-texas-campaign-brings-home-the-gold/ | title=Home }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gdc-co.com/gdc_work/txdot/ | title=TxDOT Save Me with a Seat }}</ref>