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| Don't Mess With Texas Voted the nation's favorite slogan this year, Don't Mess With Texas is known around the world as an anti-litter battle cry that achieved remarkable results. But while 95 percent of Texans know and love the saying, most of them don't even know the secret history of the famous campaign. In the new book Don't Mess With Texas: The Story Behind the Legend (Idea City Press, September 2006) two of the campaign's creators mark its 20th anniversary with revealing stories and colorful photographs about the celebrities and sports heroes who helped deliver the tough-talking message. Tim McClure and Roy Spence (the M and the S in Austin ad firm GSD&M) reveal -- in words and pictures -- the behind-the-scenes stories of the famous and infamous Texans who created and starred in the campaign: the controversies, the close calls and how art and science combined to accomplish the most successful anti-litter campaign in American history. Beginning with legendary blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1986 and ending with 16-year-old chanteuse LeAnn Rimes in 1998, each of the memorable commercials are recounted and illustrated. Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, the stars of Greater Tuna, Randy White and Ed "Too Tall" Jones, George Foreman, Lyle Lovett and even Shamu are celebrated, as are dozens of other notable Texans who donated their time and talents to the campaign. "We never doubted the slogan would work", McClure says. "But in the beginning, there were some big hurdles to overcome -- Texas politics, for one." According to McClure, only a handful of people ever knew the secret history of the Don't Mess With Texas campaign, until now. "Some of my favorite stories in the book are the 11th hour inspiration for the 'battle cry.' The wardrobe malfunctions and special effects misfires. The appropriation of the saying by everyone from presidents to Madison Avenue and Hollywood. The unsung heroes who helped make the campaign the incredible success that it continues to be to this day. All of these and more make this a fun book to read", McClure says. The Don't Mess With Texas campaign specifically targeted the people who actually threw trash on roadsides, and resulted in an astounding 29 percent reduction in litter the very first year - the largest reduction of trash ever measured in this country. Ten years later trash on Texas highways was down by an incredible 72 percent, and four little words, Don't Mess With Texas, were etched on Texans' hearts and minds as surely as they changed the behavior of those who littered. Last month in New York City, Don't Mess With Texas officially became one of the nation's favorite slogans, winning by a landslide against high-profile national campaigns including "Just Do It" and "Got Milk?" in the Advertising Week Walk of Fame competition. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |