Wednesday, October 19

Don't Mess with Texas with The Tyler Rose

If you're a football-loving Texan (are there any other kind of Texans?), you probably have some love for Earl Campbell. If not ... well, we hear Oklahoma can be nice this time of year.


You've probably also heard the phrase "Don't Mess with Texas". Did you know that phrase is a registered trademark of the Texas Department of Transportation? Heck, it's even 30 years old and known as one of the most recognizable branding campaigns in the nation. But do you know what the message is really trying to communicate to folks across the state?

If you're not clear on our DMWT message, perhaps The Tyler Rose can help. During the copious amounts of football you're no doubt watching on Thursday nights, Saturdays, Sundays and Monday nights, you may well see this brief spot featuring Campbell in his trademark straightforward manner reminding you to keep your trash in trash cans.


Litter on our roads continues to be a costly problem as Texas grows by more than 650 people every day. Last year we spent $32 million cleaning up nearly half-a-billion pieces of litter across the state. That’s a lot of money that could have been used for something more productive like building or maintaining our roadways.


So help us help you. Next time you're grabbing a Whataburger, pay close attention to the message on that beautifully striped bag and toss your trash where it belongs. You just may save us enough money to build that overpass you keep asking us for!

PS: if you're looking for a PSA to run with your own media outlet, we're happy to have you run one of these. The high-res, broadcast ready PSA is available by going to our campaign page in our Media Center. You'll also find a 15-second version there if that's more your speed.