TxDOT Gives Playboy 45 Days To Remove A Marfa Bunny On A Stick

When I read this morning that the Texas Department of Transportation was giving Playboy 45 days to remove an unlicensed road side advertisement I figured it must be some sort of hideous eyesore that had generated a lot of complaints.

And then I saw a photo of the "advertisement."

The "advertisement" is the iconic Playboy bunny logo on a stick.

Playboy considers this to be a roadside art display. The name of this art display is Playboy Marfa. Which might lead one to correctly guess that Playboy Marfa is in the Marfa  zone of the Big Bend Region of Texas.

This roadside art was created by New York artist, Richard Phillips, working with Playboy's creative director of special projects, Neville Wakefield.

In addition to the Playboy bunny on a stick, the art installation includes a 1972 Dodge Charger sitting on a tilted concrete platform.

TxDOT claims Playboy does not have a license for outdoor advertisement in Texas.

Playboy claims they have not violated any laws and will work with TxDOT to try and alleviate TxDOT's concerns.

What I am wondering is why is there such a shortage of common sense in Texas public agencies? And they are known by initials. TCEQ, TRWD, TxDOT, FWISD.

Does that Playboy bunny on a stick look like an advertisement to you?

If this "advertisement" is meant to generate publicity, well, Playboy has done a good job, with help from TxDOT, turning this into yet one more national story that makes Texas appear even goofier than it actually is.