The anti-litter campaign “Don’t Mess With Texas” got a reboot recently after a contest submission by a Texas A&M University student.
Courtney Eoff, a marketing student at A&M, wrote “Don’t M-E-Double-S With Texas” for TxDOT’s anti-litter campaign contest. The Rockdale native competed against more than 100 other singers and songwriters to be the new voice of the campaign. Her prize was a $5,000 home recording studio.
“I’m very excited to learn and research and figure out how to use [the recording equipment],” Eoff told Texas Standard. “It’s going to be so much fun this summer!”
Now, Eoff can say she has two things in common with Willie Nelson and George Strait: all three have been the voice of the “Don’t Mess With Texas” campaign, and they all love country music. Eoff says there’s never a silent moment in her home; there’s either lots of chatting or country music playing.
Her idea for the jingle came to her while she was bored, recovering from foot surgery.
“I was recovering and didn’t have anything else to do. And so I grabbed my guitar and started writing down every idea I could think about and recording it, and just trying to come up with a solid jingle,” Eoff said. “It was late, so I was like, maybe I should sleep on this. And so, the next morning I showed my parents – I said, ‘Hey, I think I found a jingle,’ and I said, ‘You like this?’ And they ended up loving it!”
Her education in marketing might have given her an edge in the contest, but now she’s also considering a possible career in music – if the right opportunity comes along.
“I’m definitely open to pretty much anything. I’m a full-time student right now, but I’ve always told my parents, and they know this, that if a musical opportunity came about that I would definitely take it. So I think this is a step in the right direction,” she said.
