"Mom" replaces celebrities in new Don't Mess with Texas ads
Campaign measures 52 percent drop in roadside litter

Austin, Texas - What kind of a person would dump a giant Styrofoam cup of soda on their mom? That's rude, crude and downright socially unacceptable. And it's the focus of a radically different "Don't Mess with Texas" television campaign launched statewide today with a whole new breed of litterer in mind - "Generation Litterer," or "Gen L."

Today's worst litterers are no longer the campaign's previous target of pickup-truck-driving males age 18-34 - "Bubba." Research shows most of today's Texas trash is being tossed by males and females under age 24 - a market demographic TxDOT is calling "Gen Litter" or "Gen L."

"Research tells us featuring celebrities as spokespeople in ads like we've done in the past does not resonate near as much with the Gen L demographic," said TxDOT Travel Division Director Doris Howdeshell. "Instead, they're more likely to believe in ads that feature someone they respect or love, such as their mom or girlfriend. It's our goal to convey the message that your lifestyle is cool, but littering is not."

The new campaign debuts in conjunction with the release of groundbreaking geographic research results that reveal a 52 percent drop in Texas roadside litter since 1995. The litter study, conducted by NuStats International with the campaign's advertising agency Tuerff-Davis EnviroMedia, also shows that despite the reduction, approximately 1 billion pieces of litter will still accumulate on Texas roads this year.

"TxDOT is approaching the remaining litter problem head-on with this new campaign that poses the simple question, 'If someone you love or respect were Texas, would you still litter?'" said Howdeshell. "Obviously, it isn't cool to dump a soda on your mom, and likewise it isn't cool to dump one on Texas."

The new Don't Mess with Texas campaign includes four television public service announcements that each feature a different central character and one of the most predominant types of litter. In the first PSA, which premiered in theaters across Texas over the holidays, a Gen L male tosses a half-full soda cup on a mother figure. The spot finishes with the question, "If your mother were Texas, would you still litter?" According to the 2001 litter study, non-alcoholic beverage containers like the soda cup make up 16 percent of all roadside litter.

In addition to the "If your Mother were Texas" ad, the other PSAs and the litter they feature are:
· "If your Girlfriend were Texas" - A Gen L male dumps an ashtray of cigarette butts over a Gen L female's head. Tobacco trash makes up 19 percent of litter.
· "If your Daughter were Texas" - A burly male splats a wrapper with a half-eaten burger on a 4-year-old girl. Fast food trash comprises 20 percent of litter.
· "If your Grandfather were Texas" - An anonymous worker crams random paper products into a giant shredder that shoots the mess directly in an elderly man's face. Personal and household paper litter accounts for 19 percent of roadside trash.

"I really don't think my generation wants to be known for littering," said Hans Haveron, the 19-year-old from Austin who made his acting debut as the son in the "If your Mother were Texas" PSA.

The campaign was produced by Tuerff-Davis EnviroMedia Inc., the Austin firm that has served as the Don't Mess with Texas agency of record since 1998. To reach the new Gen L target, EnviroMedia recruited nationally acclaimed youth marketing expert Sean Mullens to create and direct a series of new television PSAs. Mullens has gained national recognition for creating edgy campaigns that get noticed and get results for clients like Levi's and ESPN.

The new spots will rotate with paid schedules in San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Rio Grande Valley, El Paso and Austin media markets throughout the spring, and with public service distribution statewide. The PSAs can also be viewed at www.dontmesswithtexas.org, which was nationally recognized as "Cool Site of the Day" on January 17.

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