Don’t Mess with Texas Celebrates 20th Anniversary.

As the “Don’t Mess with Texas” campaign prepares to release a celebrity-packed 20th Anniversary campaign for 2006, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is issuing a mantra to combat the state’s stubborn littering tendencies — “Real Texans Don’t Litter.”

“There aren’t many things that are universally cool, and it’s cool not to litter. I’d never do it,” said Matthew McConaughey in an exclusive interview. “Though recent research indicates roadside litter has dropped by a third, we’ve also discovered that more than half of Texans admit they litter and that’s just not acceptable,” said TxDOT Travel Division Director Doris Howdeshell. “We’re grateful to the celebrities who have joined with TxDOT during this milestone year to be prime examples of Real Texans who Don’t Litter.”

The new TV campaign launched during the AT&T Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2, features some of the biggest stars from Texas: Lance Armstrong, Erykah Badu, Ray Benson, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Julius Jones, Los Lonely Boys, Matthew McConaughey, Chuck Norris, Janine Turner, Owen Wilson and Lee Ann Womack. The late blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was the first celebrity to utter the words “Don’t Mess with Texas” in the campaign’s first PSA, which debuted during the Cotton Bowl in 1986.

“TxDOT launched the campaign back in ’86 because of skyrocketing litter pickup costs,” said Howdeshell. “We’re proud the campaign has produced such good results for Texas, and the fact that it’s become a part of pop culture is just an added bonus. We just want to make sure everyone knows Don’t Mess with Texas means don’t litter.”

Today, litter pickup costs taxpayers some $36 million annually. A recently released litter analysis study indicates that roadside litter has dropped by 33 percent since 2001. However, another survey of some 1,200 Texans reveals 55 percent of them admit to littering, and most of them are under the age of 25.

For more information at http://www.DontMessWithTexas20.org