The Tricky Nuances of Rebranding

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store recently attempted to redesign its well-known logo for the first time in 48 years.  The redesign was part of a larger corporate effort to modernize the restaurant and its brand in competition with other popular fast-casual restaurant chains.  Many restaurant chains, like McDonald’s, have been preferring simplified logos and brand imagery, as well as homogenous, box-style architecture emphasizing a neutral, interchangeable aesthetic instead of unique décor, like McDonald’s old iconic sloped-roof style.  Cracker Barrel is well-known for its old-school Southern atmosphere, replete with an old-country store for browsing while waiting for a table to become available and complemented by a massive menu heavy on comfort food standards.  Each traditional Cracker Barrel restaurant includes an inviting old country-styled porch with rocking chairs and its ubiquitous large sign over the entrance with its popular logo depicting a man leaning on a barrel next to the restaurant’s name.  Everything about Cracker Barrel’s classic style has always leaned heavily on nostalgia for lifelong customers. 

Cracker Barrel’s efforts to modernize its image was met with rabid backlash, especially in online discourse, as angry customers tried to imply that Cracker Barrel’s corporate heads were bowing to “wokeness” and trying to attack Southern values and alienate its “traditional” customer base.  Craker Barrel purportedly lost $100 million in value within days of unveiling its new stream-lined logo and rebranding plan.  Critics of this move believed that the decision to remove the old man and the barrel from the logo was a signal that certain customer bases were no longer welcome.  Indeed, the old man in the logo, named “Uncle Herschel”, was based on the store founder’s real uncle who spent his retirement years hanging out at restaurants and greeting customers with his unique Southern charm.  However, despite what was being asserted on social media and even reported in some mainstream news, Cracker Barrel’s change was always more about updating the corporate image for modern times to remain competitive in the fast-casual restaurant market than anything political.  Nevertheless, in response to the backlash, Cracker Barrel has put its rebrand on hold and reverted back to its traditional logo.

Corporate rebranding occurs for a variety of reasons, from addressing outdated imagery, to updating brands to reflect changing cultural and socio-political beliefs, to expanding the connotative nature of a brand to reflect new products and/or service offerings, to simply refreshing a stale brand.  For example, in 2021, PepsiCo decided to change the well-known Aunt Jemima brand for syrup and pancake mix, noting that the old brand evoked racist imagery that was first introduced in a song about slaves.  The name was changed to Pearl Milling Company and the brand was redesigned with a 19th Century watermill evoking the brand’s original founding in 1888.  Similar changes to address derogatory, racist and outdated imagery occurred with brands for Eskimo Pie (changed to Edy’s Pie), Uncle Ben’s Rice (changed to Ben’s Original Rice and eliminating the image of an old African-American man wearing a bow tie evoking the image of a servant) and Cream of Wheat (removing the image of an older African-American chef which itself had previously replaced a caricature evocative of blackface minstrel shows).

Some rebranding efforts have been made to mirror changes in a company’s commercial reach.  For example, in 2020, the King Arthur Flour brand, dating back to 1790 in Boston, Massachusetts, was updated to the King Arthur Baking Company, partly motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The change was not for any political reason.  Instead, through a press release, the company explained that "The rebrand ... reflects what the company has always been: a company of bakers who believe in the power of baking to forge community and bring joy.”  An increased interest in home-baking during the pandemic, as demonstrated by a massive increase in emails and calls to the King Arthur Baking Hotline, caused the company to make a conscious effort to expand its brand and outreach as reflected by the broader King Arthur Baking Company brand.

In an ever-changing corporate landscape, many service industries, including restaurant chains, have recently been focused on improving their online presence through social media, online ordering apps and viral marketing.  Cracker Barrel’s proposed logo change could very well have been intended to simplify the logo for an online app and social media blitz to attract new customer bases.  However, the immediate backlash has led Cracker Barrel to undergo sever damage control.  Indeed, corporations must always be focused on developing a thorough and evolving branding strategy covering traditional and modern marketing channels.  A brick-and-mortar sign will often need to be different from a tiny icon on a phone screen.  Nevertheless, corporations must remain mindful of how any rebranding changes will be received by old and new customers alike.  Cracker Barrel’s recent experience shows just how difficult a seemingly simple refresh can be.