Cracker Barrel will go back to old logo after conservative backlash
The reversal by the country-themed restaurant chain comes a day after it tried to reassure customers that its values didn't change in the branding decision.
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The reaction has been absurd, but their new logo was definitely awful.
I don't think that the old logo is great either, and the update did improve on technical aspects. You don't want to have all that small text, for example. And generally, simpler logos are preferable.
But...their shtick is a rustic feel. Whatever you can say about the original logo, it did evoke that. I have a hard time seeing the new one doing that.
EDIT: I also think that this compares favorably to another controversial recent rebrand: Musk rebranding Twitter, which was generally seen as not a good idea; Twitter already had a strong brand identity. People weren't happy and Musk went right ahead with it regardless. At Cracker Barrel, the initial response was "calm down, it'll be okay", but they were willing to second-guess themselves, even though I expect that there were people there who were invested in the rebrand.
EDIT2: They'd also done smaller, more incremental changes to the logo in the past, because the "Old Country Store" text had had its typeface changed at some point in the past.
EDIT3: Here's a more-comprehensive history:
I do find it amusing that the “classic” logo everyone is pining for is from the “ancient” year of 1997…
Tbf as weird as it sounds, ‘97 is vintage now
I hate you for pointing that out.
Counts on hands... Oh yeah, it's over 10 years now isn't it?
Officially 28 years ago
I think there's a mistake, other sources say 1977 instead of 1997..
According to another site, the logo was 1977, not 1997. Which tracks with another article mentioning a marketing person coming up with the design in the 70s
If they'd just textured the background shape to actually look like a barrel it would be pretty good actually.
On the long drive to and from vacation last week I noticed the 2024-25 picture used a lot and I thought wait they already have a version without the other stuff and it looks fine so why the hell are they changing it again when its perfectly fine the way it is? My biggest complaint of the newest one was just that it featured no border. It already looked weird, but without that border, it just didn't work at all.
How was it awful?
Could you tell me what the heck this yellow blob shape is supposed to be?
From a purely graphic design perspective, the classic logo is too busy and doesn't scale well. The only thing it has going for it is the weirdness of the shape and the distinct color combination. It's technically a really bad logo. You may not prefer the new logo but, technically, it's a whole lot better. It's far more adaptable to newer platforms while stilling being recognizable. Now, as far as being an effective representation of the brand and if that's a corporate concern, I don't know that I can comment on that.
In another post about this, someone posted a bunch of other fast food logos, and they all looked very much the same, especially in silhouette. They're all just a same-y blend of mediocrity, whereas the existing logo was at least unique.
McDonald's probably has the best and most distinctive logo out of anyone.
Who cares
The yellow blob is a pinto bean. :)
I thought it was some splooge.
The barrel ain’t just full of crackers
Yellow blob is obviously a speech bubble.
Its not a speech bubble, its what the awful food will look like coming out on the other end of the tunnel
Lmfao
I don't know if you're serious or not.
I'm not. I know nothing about this brand or culture lmao
It's somebody who sees the white guy and a barrel and said them two together.
100%, right here.
Kinda wish the public had a similar outrage when Fruit of the Loom modernized their logo in 2000, lol
I'm more upset about Mr Pringle.
Lost not only his hair, but the twinkle in his eye, poor chap.
I just wish they didn't try to gaslight humanity into believing there was never a cornucopia
Who gives a fuck? Let's focus on the fascist takeover happening in every city in the country, and the billionaires almost completely winning the war on the populace.
Jesus, we're allowed to think about other things every so often, it doesn't have to be US politics 24/7
I mean, the headline literally talks about conservative snowflakes, it's kind of related
It was fine, Jesus Christ
