“don’t mess with texas” – it’s not a macho message
perhaps because there are too many underemployed lawyers in texas, ap is reporting that the texas transportation department has sent 23 cease-and-desist letters to companies that use some variation of the “don’t mess with texas” slogan.
The slogan was created by an Austin advertising firm in 1986, and made its television premiere during the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1987.
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The Transportation Department only recently stepped up enforcement to protect its trademark, registered in 2000.
seems like a pretty big gap to me… and what happened to “don’t mess with texas” between 1986 and 2004? lots [that’s “about 19,200” hits at the moment] only “about 1630” of which include litter.
“The state of Texas has a lot of money invested in the slogan, and we definitely want people to know it’s a litter prevention message, it’s not a macho message,” said Doris Howdeshell, director of the department’s travel division.
um. ok. if you say so.