About Us - Don't Mess With Texas
TEXAS’ FAVORITE SLOGAN
Don’t mess with Texas® was created in 1985 when the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) began thinking of a new anti-litter campaign. When a marketing agency presented “Don’t mess with Texas” as a campaign slogan, some members of TxDOT worried that the line would seem too harsh and direct.
However, the first commercial in 1986 staring blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn proved to be an overnight success. Soon, everyone was using the phrase Don’t mess with Texas.
The campaign has worked with many Texans since 1986 – from George Strait and Willie Nelson to Ethan Hawke and Post Malone. More importantly, Don’t mess with Texas has helped to oversee a significant decline in littering since the campaign’s launch. Litter has dropped over 50% since 1995 and continues to decline.
While the campaign has seen some changes throughout the years, one thing always remains the same, Don’t mess with Texas is about inspiring Texans to keep our roads and highways clean.
This bold statement isn’t bravado, it’s about loving Texas and doing our part to create a litter-free state for ourselves, our families, and our businesses. The Don’t mess with Texas campaign also benefits economic development efforts in our state. The cleaner our state, the more businesses will want to come and create more jobs, plus more families will move here because there is more opportunity for prosperity. We are a friendly state, and we are also a proud state. Let’s keep it clean.
DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS TIMELINE
1985
The campaign slogan is introduced through bumper stickers.
1986
The first Don’t mess with Texas commercial airs.
1988
The first PSA in Spanish featuring Shamu airs across Texas.
1989
The popular Willie Nelson spot “Mammas tell all your babies Don’t mess with Texas” airs.
1998
16- to 24-year-olds are declared “Gen L” (Generation Litter). A study reveals that 96% of Texans have heard Don’t mess with Texas but only 61% know that the phrase refers to litter.
2001
Research shows that litter has dropped 50% since 1995.
2003
The first Don’t mess with Texas road tour travels 5,000 miles across the state.
Research shows that litter has dropped 33% since 2001. 71% of Texans now understand that Don’t mess with Texas means don’t litter.
2006
After a 20th anniversary Cotton Bowl commercial featuring favorite celebrities, Don’t mess with Texas is inaugurated into the Advertising Hall of Fame as America’s favorite slogan.
2010
A new commercial with George Strait tells Texans that Don’t mess with Texas means don’t litter.
2011
For its 25-year anniversary, Don’t mess with Texas hosts an online poll for Texans' favorite Don’t mess with Texas TV commercial. The Commemorative Air Force wins with 60,000 votes!
2016
Don’t mess with Texas celebrates its 30th anniversary with a slew of favorite celebrities as well as selfies and social videos from Texas-born influencers like Eva Longoria.
2018
Darrel the Barrel joins the campaign as the official mascot. Don’t mess with Texas virtual reality experience tours across the state.
2023
Ethan Hawke joins Darrel the Barrel in the mascot’s first Don’t mess with Texas commercial.
2024
The PRIDE PSA showcases Texas landscapes highlighting the beauty of our state. The commercial emphasizes the importance of taking pride in our state and invites viewers to do their part by keeping Texas litter-free.
Click Here!
2026
Don't Mess with Texas celebrates 40 years of keeping Texas litter-free, with native Texasn, Post Malone.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
If you’ve got questions, Don’t mess with Texas
has answers! Please take a look at some of our frequently asked questions and find answers to your burning queries below.
LITTER
Litter is trash that is not disposed of properly in a trash can. When it’s in the can, it becomes garbage. Anywhere else, it’s litter. The following is definitely LITTER:
Cigarette butts – they’re small, but they’re a nuisance
Gum and gum wrappers – anything less than two square inches are considered micro-litter, a growing problem on Texas roadways
Apple cores and banana peels – even though they’ll decompose
Trash that flies out of a car window or truck bed — accidentally or otherwise
Littering is against the law, and you can be fined up to $500 for trash less than or equal to five pounds or five gallons. Repeat the offense, and you could face a fine of up to $2,000 and 180 days in jail.
Discarding trash that weighs more than five pounds is considered illegal dumping and carries even steeper fines. In Texas, failing to cover your pickup truck load is against the law and carries a fine of up to $200 for the first offense and $500 for repeat offenders.
Any law enforcement officer in Texas can enforce these laws.
The best way to keep our roads and highways litter-free is to not litter in the first place. Make sure to properly dispose of all your trash and encourage others to do the same. That includes keeping your truck bed free of trash and securing all items in your truck before driving. If you’d like to help clean up our state, take a look at our
Get Involved
page for ideas and programs to keep Texas litter-free.
We’d love to help with your coverage of litter issues in Texas. We can provide your news organization with quotes, updated statistics and an in-depth perspective on the subject.
COMMERCIALS AND SPOKESPEOPLE
Don’t mess with Texas’ spokespeople are as unique as the state itself. They are chosen to appeal to the state’s most likely litterers.
Many people love our Don’t mess with Texas commercials. That’s why we’ve created our
Commercials
page so that you can watch any spot from 1986 to today from our website.
If you want to know which spot other Texans love on social media, take a look at our blog post
"Top 10 Don’t mess with Texas Commercials Shared on Social Media"
We try to spread the Don’t mess with Texas message to every Texan in the state, but Texas is huge, and there are only so many dollars. Between TV, outdoor boards and radio, we advertise in almost every metropolitan area in the state. We also send our TV ads to stations across the state to use as PSAs. If you’d like your local station to air our commercials, call them and let them know!
LICENSING
The short answer is: No. The Don’t mess with Texas slogan is a trademark held by the Texas Department of Transportation. The use or sale of unlicensed items bearing the phrase Don’t mess with Texas is a violation of U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3872108 DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS (6202-03800). The addition of any words or phrases instead of or in addition to the word “Texas” in the trademarked slogan is also a violation of federal trademark law. For example: “Don’t mess with Texas Women” or “Don’t mess with Texas Hockey.”
We do partner with certain vendors to create official Don’t mess with Texas merchandise. These vendors have obtained a license from the Texas Department of Transportation for the legal use of the slogan or logo.
To obtain a license for the legal use of the Don’t mess with Texas (DMWT) registered mark, please review the following information before submitting a request. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) receives many requests for permission to use the Don’t mess with Texas mark. Any and all uses of the mark must be approved by TxDOT.
TxDOT staff members who coordinate the Don’t mess with Texas campaign. These professionals are familiar with our brand and policies process and administer all requests. TxDOT has the legal right and obligation to protect our logo and tagline and to ensure its proper use. In doing so, it has the sole discretion to approve or deny any license request.
If TxDOT chooses to enter into a license agreement, costs, including license fees and royalties, will be determined upon execution of a license agreement.
A proposed requestor must fill out and submit the license request form below. If a requester cannot submit electronically, the requester can print the
Usage Request form
and mail it to:
Texas Department of Transportation
TRV Attn: DMWT Licensing
6230 E. Stassney Ln
Austin, TX 78744
email: info@dontmesswithtexastest.org
LICENSE REQUEST FORM
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