Cracker Barrel Logo Change Sparks Fury

 

Cracker Barrel has changed its logo for the first time in 48 years—and people are cracking up about it online. The change has prompted backlash, including from conservatives, though many have taken to social media to ridicule the backlash.

 

A spokesperson for Cracker Barrel told Newsweek, "Our values haven't changed, and the heart and soul of Cracker Barrel haven't changed."

 

Why It Matters

Logo changes, branding, and advertising choices made by companies have become a hot-button issue online in recent years, often signaling the onset of online culture wars, as conservatives and social media users have criticized decisions made by brands, likening changes to being 'woke.'

 

More:

https://www.newsweek.com/cracker-barrel-logo-maga-conservative-social-media-viral-2116817

 

 

Cracker Barrel loses almost $100 million in value as stock plunges after new logo release

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cracker-barrel-cbrl-stock-down-200-million-loss-new-logo-change/

Don finally cocks up big time.....No cracker, no barrel

 

 

 

 

No barrel on the shirt? ..No problem — bring your own.

Maybe the protestors of this would have preferred --

 

Crackers R Us 

 

I think I get why they made the change.

The core market that liked the old timey stuff are dying out and they're going after younger people.

I don't care either way. I wasn't into them when I lived in the US but I predict this will turn out being a smart move regardless of short term stock moves.

 

The change is not really woke. It's just somewhat less cracker.

 

Continuing on this theme, I do enjoy the southern folk culture of Waffle Houses.

They won't be changing their name but imagine if they tried this one on:

Maison de Crepes

 

 

Look how well Bud light did after the Mulvaney commercials.

Just now, EVENKEEL said:

Look how well Bud light did after the Mulvaney commercials.

Completely different situation.

That was about scapegoating trans people.

Jaguar didn't do so well after they changed their name either...

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Completely different situation.

That was about scapegoating trans people.

I highly suggest you refresh your memory of the term scapegoating.

 

Sales plummeted after the famous Mulvaney commercial. Had sales been down prior to the commercial, then you'd have an argument.

Until the MAGA uproar over the re-branding, it did not occur to me that "Cracker Barrel" would mean anything other than a receptacle for a type of biscuit.

I thought this was about the UK cheese of the same name. Think they stopped selling it about 10 years ago. I got a little excited thinking they had brought it back into production.

 

Have you tried their deep fried mayonnaise loaf with country sausage white gravy? 

44 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Continuing on this theme, I do enjoy the southern folk culture of Waffle Houses.

They won't be changing their name but imagine if they tried this one on:

Maison de Crepes

 

 

Maybe call it that on the coasts and call it "Freedom Waffles" in the flyover states?

31 minutes ago, Keeps said:

I thought this was about the UK cheese of the same name. Think they stopped selling it about 10 years ago. I got a little excited thinking they had brought it back into production.

 

 

just FYI, the Cracker Barrel cheeses brand from the U.S. is entirely unrelated and separate from the Cracker Barrel chain of Southern U.S. style restaurants and gift shops -- the subject of the thread here.

 

Cracker Barrel cheeses:

A RICH HISTORY

"Cracker Barrel cheddar cheese was introduced in 1954 by Kraft. It was a brand born from a love for quality cheese and a passion for cheddar-making heritage and values.  Our name comes from the 19th century practice of general store customers gathering around “cracker barrels” full of soda crackers to engage in conversation.

 

"Cracker Barrel is a registered trademark of Lactalis Heritage Dairy, Inc. It is not associated or affiliated with Cracker Barrel Old Country Store or CBOCS Properties, Inc. Cracker Barrel Macaroni & Cheese is a registered trademark owned by Kraft Foods."

 

https://crackerbarrelcheese.com/our-story/

 

 

36 minutes ago, Keeps said:

I thought this was about the UK cheese of the same name. Think they stopped selling it about 10 years ago. I got a little excited thinking they had brought it back into production.

 

 

Genuine American cheese made by Kraft Foods.

 

Still available, you can order on Amazon.  Get a Canadian friend to transship to Thailand for ya.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Cracker-Barrel-Cheddar-Cheese-Wrapper/dp/B00I08K8WE

7 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Genuine American cheese made by Kraft Foods.

 

Still available, you can order on Amazon.  Get a Canadian friend to transship to Thailand for ya.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Cracker-Barrel-Cheddar-Cheese-Wrapper/dp/B00I08K8WE

Just been reading up on this. Thanks for the link but very different to the UK brand they stopped making around 10 years ago (although was under the Kraft Foods brand).

 

Never mind, plenty of other good cheeses to choose from so I won't starve. 

Looks like an expensive waste of money.  Looks zero thought went into this logo change.

Cracker Barrel to restore old logo amid right-wing rebrand controversy

 

The Cracker Barrel chain will return to its old logo after a brief attempt last week at a streamlined rebrand at the Southern food chain prompted widespread anger among conservatives online and criticism from President Donald Trump.

 

"We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel," Cracker Barrel said in a statement on X. "We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain. At Cracker Barrel, it’s always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm welcomes, and the kind of country hospitality that feels like family."

 

“As a proud American institution, our 70,000 hardworking employees look forward to welcoming you to our table soon,” the company added.

 

Read more:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cracker-barrel-new-logo-change-maga-b2814659.html

President Trump celebrated the announcement in a post on Truth Social.

Next Trump will want to bring back Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima. 

1 hour ago, Real Name Hidden said:

Next Trump will want to bring back Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima. 

And hiring based on merit rather than how many diversity boxes the applicant ticks.

Before I get into the nitty-gritty, I'll start with some background info.  Cracker has at least seven different meanings in English, one of which is a pejorative term for white people. In that sense, it was originally used by the English in the 1500s to  refer to Scots, Irish and lowest class of Englishmen.  In the 1700s in colonial America, it came to mean "a group of Celtic immigrants — Scots-Irish people who came to the Americas who were running from political circumstances in the old world."   https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/07/01/197644761/word-watch-on-crackers

 

Many Scots-Irish settled in the southern states and became the stereotype of "white trash,"  hence "crackers."  In the 1800s, "cracker" was used to refer to overseers who "cracked the whip" to force slaves to work. Scots-Irish immigrants were too poor to own slaves, but often worked as overseers and therefore had a double association with the word "cracker."  In the 1900s,  cracker gradually came to mean all poor whites, but especially southerners.   In recent years, it's been used as pejorative term for all whites.

 

Of course, the cracker in Cracker Barrel refers to a thin wafer or saltine.  Crackers were shipped in barrels to avoid breakage and became a symbol of the country stores that sold soda crackers.  The empty barrels were often used as makeshift tables in these stores.

 

The guy who founded Cracker Barrel in 1969 did it as a push-back against fast food.  He believed a big segment of the U.S. public would prefer to make  motorway stops at an old-fashioned restaurant and country store rather than McDonalds and Burger King.  He was right.  His original restaurant turned a profit after one month and had expanded to 13 branches by 1977.  It was only then the Cracker Barrel logo was introduced. It was intended to convey the nostalgic and "down home" feel of the chain's restaurants.  

 

A lot of people associated the "old timer" named "Uncle Herschel" with the country stores they'd known in their childhoods.  They also appreciated the menu, heavy on big portions of comfort food, which was the opposite of a fast-food burger joint.  By 2024, Cracker Barrel had grown to 660 locations in 45 states.  While nowhere near the size of some fast-food chains, Cracker Barrel has had a loyal customer base.   The company's top management underestimated this loyalty.

 

Cracker Barrel refreshed its logo and paid the price. Here's what brand experts say went wrong.

"From a branding perspective, it's basically a flop," said David E. Johnson, CEO of branding agency Strategic Vision PR Group, of Cracker Barrel's logo redesign. "What they did wrong is they went against their brand story, which was the old logo, that reflected the southern, whimsical atmosphere in the stores."

In Johnson's view, Cracker Barrel's mistake was that it replaced a logo with genuine symbolic currency for a "very generic looking logo that doesn't tell a story." 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cracker-barrel-logo-barrel-stock-cbrl-ceo/

 

It's quite a fascinating story.  You can read all the details here:

Cracker Barrel Logo

The Cracker Barrel logo welcomes all visitors, inviting them to step into a cozy restaurant and immerse themselves in the nostalgic atmosphere of rural life. The emblem conveys a sense of hospitality, tranquility, and simplicity associated with the culture of the American South.   https://logos-world.net/cracker-barrel-logo/

 

 

 

The crackers whined and got their picture back on the logo.