The new Cracker Barrel logo has managed to ignite an online controversy, the latest battleground of the culture war.
Cracker Barrel has simplified its logo, erasing the iconic “Uncle Herschel” and his barrel. Now, Cracker Barrel is represented by a simple yellow shape that barely resembles a barrel.
Cracker Barrel is far from unique in its rebranding—modern minimalist trends see many corporations wipe the personality from their logos, often leaving only their names written in simple font.
Few seem to like this trend, and many social media users have compiled images to show the comparison between the colorful, mascot-heavy logos of the past and the sterile, bland logos that have replaced them.
This kind of commentary sometimes crosses over into reactionary, aggressively nostalgic accounts who lament for the bygone days of ‘90s consumerism, when McDonalds still looked like a kid’s restaurant and Pizza Hut still had that distinctive “hat” shape.
Much of the backlash against Cracker Barrel’s new look came from reactionary culture warriors who labeled the new logo as “woke.” Many right-wing accounts banded together to protest the change, viewing the corporate rebrand through a political lens.
In the wake of the backlash, Florida Representative Byron Donalds unexpectedly declared that he had given his life to Christ in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel.
The culture war is running on reheated leftovers—it’s hard not to escape the suspicion that many were pretending to care about this issue, perhaps for the sake of engagement.
Following Trump’s re-election, some commentators declared a “victory over woke” (which was recently satirized by South Park), but it seems that “woke” must return, in order to describe things to be mad at.
The word “woke” is overused, vague and famously difficult to define—now that bland corporate logos have entered its umbrella, the word seems to have ascended into pure abstraction.
Those upset at the change were mercilessly mocked.
Some commentators even tried to diagnose the true anxieties underlying the culture war, beyond the logo.
The brand account behind Steak 'n Shake also got involved in the backlash, posting a picture of Cracker Barrel’s new logo, edited to read “fire the CEO.”
A few commentators clarified that they were against the rebrand, but not because of politics.
Others insisted on keeping things political—conservative commentator Ann Coulter posted a meme comparing the original logo to Sydney Sweeney (who recently experienced a backlash to her “Good Jeans” ad) and the new logo to activist Greta Thunberg.
The culture war has been fought over movies, TV shows, video games and ads, but this might be the most baffling, pointless skirmish so far.
In a statement to Forbes, Cracker Barrel clarified that Uncle Herschel “remains front and center in our restaurants and on our menu.”
Cracker Barrel was founded by a representative for Shell Oil in the late ‘60s, who hoped that the restaurant would improve gasoline sales, a uniquely American origin story—early locations even contained on-site gas pumps.
The restaurant was intended to evoke nostalgia from the get-go, with the logo and interior designed to remind customers of an old-fashioned country store.
Cracker Barrel’s simulacrum of a mom-and-pop’s seems to have been effective, despite the reality of a sprawling corporate franchise.
Ironically, the original logo of Cracker Barrel was text only—Uncle Herschel and his barrel were added in a 1977 rebrand.