The new logo for Cracker Barrel has to go down as one of the worst marketing moves ever performed for a struggling company. It was so universally hated, both Republicans and Democrats pounced on it for clout, as well as many corporations’ social media departments. While this move spells out doom for the casual observer, most people who have been following the story of Cracker Barrel know that this is a brand that hates its audience.
But the issue that Cracker Barrel devoted its downfall to was homosexuality.
In the early 1990s, Cracker Barrel faced a scandal for discriminating against gay employees and customers. As a prestigious Southern brand, the chain quickly became targeted by Social Justice Warriors and woke institutions, most notably the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a gay rights organization. Cracker Barrel, instead of leaning into Christian values, went the opposite route.
By 2005, Cracker Barrel had a failing grade from HRC. Enter Steve Smotherman, an executive who launched internal woke reforms, steadily raising the company’s HRC score. Smotherman even sat on an HRC advisory council, so as to get his DEI training straight from the source. From there until now, Cracker Barrel would rebrand itself to remove any hint of traditional coding and funding gay pride events.
Today, Cracker Barrel shot out its kneecaps, attempting to further rebrand itself away from its homophobic days, leaving it with no brand.
Brand is one of the most overblown (not to say unimportant) concentrations in business, but this is an instance of a corporation shattering its brand for the approval of homosexuals who do not dine there.
Even in the face of this branding disaster, Cracker Barrel has called customers, competitors, and onlookers out of touch while chasing the AIDS-ridden approval of a cosmopolitan TikTokers.
Cracker Barrel does not care about maximizing shareholder profit. They would rather perform endless humiliation rituals to chase approval from the woke mob. They are an inevitable case of go woke, go broke.
2 Responses
“We’ll keep the name Cracker Barrel, but we gotta remove the drawing of the Cracker leaning on the Barrel, because he’s too straight.”
Woke is losing and they know it. This is just a matter of burning down what they see as a straight institution on their way out. If there is corporate repentance, we must forgive.
Especially if their pancakes remain top notch.