Yesterday morning, we leaked an image of the new Oklahoma license plate design a few hours before Mary Fallin's officially unveiling at the Capitol. In case you don't have a social media account and have missed all the complaining, here's what it looks like:
Please keep in mind, that's an image of an actual license plate. It looks a lot more dark, drab and dreary than the extremely bright rendering being pushed by the Governor.
The new plate, which was apparently inspired by The Hunger Games trilogy, Twitter Brand Identity Guide and Colorado's majestic peaks and iconic mesas, has been universally panned. In fact, the thing is so bad that even the KFOR Social Media Bandit voiced some frustrations. Check out this Facebook post:
That's fuggin' awesome! Who knew the Social Media Bandit was a fan of both The Simpsons and Rick and Morty?! I thought they were only allowed to watch Yo Gabba Gabba.
Just a few minutes after the Facebook status went online, it was quickly removed and HR sent Scott Hines around the office to investigate. He takes this shit seriously. I don't blame him. According to the KFOR Employee Handbook, only Kevin Ogle and Linda Cavanaugh is allowed to have an opinion on current events and local hot topics. Anyone caught violating that rule is automatically demoted to Freedom 43.
The fact that the Social Media Bandit and everyone else in the state seems to hate the new plate isn't too surprising. According to multiple sources, Mary Fallin and her cronies in the tourism department completely micromanaged the design, concept and selection process. I guess that explains a lot. Hell, we should probably be happy the plate isn't written in comic sans and include a starburst that reads "Tweet this plate to get 25% off your next visit to an Oklahoma, Colorado or Panem state park."
Anyway, if you're looking to avoid the new plate, you do have some options. Oklahoma has about one billion specialty plates. I'd suggest you go with the 46 Star, which pays homage to our state's progressive, borderline-socialist past. You can also go with the DIY plate below. I don't know if it's legal, but it's offers a much accurate description of what it's like to live in Oklahoma than an overplayed state bird:
