Giant Side of Texas (Lubbock slogan)

“The Giant Side of Texas” has been the slogan of the city of Lubbock since 2004. The word “giant” has nothing to do with the film Giant (1956), that starred James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor and was filmed in Marfa, Texas. The slogan means that the northwest part of Texas has giant possibilities.
 
A (perhaps inevitable) parody of this slogan has been: “The Giant Backside of Texas.”
   
 
Wikipedia: Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is the 10th-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in the northwestern part of the state—a region known historically as the Llano Estacado—it is the county seat of Lubbock County. According to an estimate by the U.S. Census in 2005, the city population was 209,737. The Lubbock metropolitan area, however, has a population of 257,663.
 
Lubbock’s nickname is the “Hub City” which derives from being the economy, education, and health care hub of a multi-county region commonly called the South Plains.The area is the largest contiguous cotton-growing region in the world and is heavily dependent on irrigation water drawn from the Ogallala Aquifer.
 
Lubbock is pronounced “LUB uck”, with the ə sound in both syllables.
 
Lubbock Chamber of Commerce
WELCOME TO THE GIANT SIDE OF TEXAS!
Welcome to Lubbock, TX…..The land of Giant dreams that stretch from horizons as wide as the eye can see. From wide open spaces to our downtown Depot district and everywhere in between, Lubbock is the ideal place to live, work and play. We truly are the Giant Side of Texas.
   
Lubbock Antechamber
What is the Giant Side of Texas?
That’s a good question and it has a lot of citizens of Lubbock wondering the same thing. If you want to get down to brass tacks, it’s just another slogan that someone came up with that seems to have had no input from the people that live in Lubbock.
 
Sure, Lubbock is a dusty and dry city and there are lots of Lubbock dwellers that wish they were somewhere else. So be it — there are certainly lots of other places to live — you are more than welcome to move on. For those who remain behind and choose to live in Lubbock, many wish there were someone with the vision to finally put the Hub City on the map rather than just being part of the “meet, eat, and retreat” crowd that has been part of the fabric of the city for so many years. Why does Lubbock continue to be the brunt of jokes all around the rest of the Lone Star State and beyond?
 
Lubbock has a heritage of music. Buddy Holly was born in Lubbock. For those not familiar with Buddy, his songs and style helped to put the city on the map. Yet, it seems many have tried everything to forget the legacy and attempt to cause everyone else to ignore his legacy as well. Lubbock in large part has done everything to deny Buddy Holly and those musicians who came after him their due.
 
Getting back to the new slogan that was allegedly designed to once again attempt to put Lubbock on the map, most have no idea what “Lubbock: The Giant Side of Texas” is supposed to mean or how it will draw the tourist dollars that Lubbock’s economy so desperately needs. Along those lines of thinking, why isn’t everyone working to enhance Lubbock’s image out there in attempting to draw business to the Hub? Why is it so difficult to bring light manufacturing to Lubbock? This city has done it before. Why aren’t city business leaders doing it again? Lubbock’s economy seems to produce very little in the form of real goods and it is the belief of many that this situation could be improved if there were something to go to Lubbock for. It seems that even a major retail center of outlet stores would be better for the Lubbock economy than where it seems to be headed. Industry does not mean building more ostentacious “Meadow Mansions” and continuing to subsidize the medical, education, and agriculture sectors of business. The new slogan that is currently being floated as that which will put Lubbock on the map seems to fall far short of one that will help Lubbock to grow and attract visitors that are so desperately needed.
 
Daily Toreador (Texas Tech)
Officials to make over Hub City image
Andrew Bell
Issue date: 9/24/04 Section: Local News
Before entering school at Texas Tech, students could have heard rumor Lubbock has a tendency to stink, and there is nothing fun to do.
(...)
Since March, the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce has been working on the image campaign, “Lubbock - the Giant Side of Texas,” and, Moran said, after the unveiling, would begin to initiate the program with the support of a variety of Lubbock organizations.
 
Officials from the Chamber of Commerce could not be reached.
 
Essentially, McDougal said the program would arm Lubbock residents with information that could be used to inform others of the activities and opportunities of the city.
 
The largest aspect of the initiative involves advertising from papers, radio, television stations and billboards, he said. In total, Lubbock media outlets have provided $1 million for promotions in the next year, for a program that would have an initial start of three years.
 
However, the program also would use a variety of technologies to present the image campaign to Hub City residents, Moran said. Later in the year, lubbocktexas.com will provide information on the history and heritage of the city. Also, he said, the Web site would contain a calendar of events to let residents know of upcoming activities.