Cracker Barrel Culture Wars: The Elephant We Can't See

Remember the parable of the blindfolded men in a dark room trying to describe the elephant they were touching? One touches the tusk and says, “it’s a spear.” Another touches the tail and swears it’s a snake. Yet another pats the leg and insists it’s a wall. Each is convinced they know the truth, yet each only perceives a part of the whole.

That’s what’s happened with Cracker Barrel’s recent branding change; each of us were witnessing the same story, but from wildly different vantage points.

Is the Cracker Barrel story only about branding or is there a hidden gem about leadership clarity? For me, it's a reminder that critical thinking and discernment is in short supply. As owners, founders and leaders critical thinking requires us to expand our awareness; to stop getting distracted by the noise, and grow in the ability to consider various perspectives before getting triggered by emotions and swayed by bias.

Let’s unpack the different perspectives from the different lenses we look through: The world lens; the political lens; the branding lens; the conspiracy lens; and the emotional lens.

1. The World Lens

There’s a 3-year war between Russia and Ukraine going strong; hostages who haven’t been released; famine in Gaza; floods in the US; and we just survived a record-breaking heat wave. Why so much arguing over a logo?

Is it a nice distraction or a complete waste of energy? Depends on your perspective: Some perspectives I noticed along the way...

• “It doesn’t affect my life at all. ”
• “It’s more than just a logo, it’s grandma and grandpa.”
• "It's just a PR stunt.
• "It's a woke agenda."
• “What is Cracker Barrel?”

The lesson: Logos are portals into identity and meaning. A very small change in comparison to world events can affect individuals when they feel their identity is being threatened.

2. The Political Lens

When Cracker Barrel ditched its “Uncle Herschel” logo, in favor of a minimalist brand, some conservative circles cried “woke!”  This accusation prompted the scrubbing of DEI and Pride content from the Cracker Barrel Website along with a course-correction to reinstate the old logo.  The White House even leaned in, claiming Trump’s social media post helped nudge the change. Was Cracker Barrel’s logo change politically motivated? Some say absolutely, and others say it’s just an attempt to keep up the time times and appeal to the younger generation. As human beings we always see what we want to see. We easily believe our assumptions when our assumptions support our firmly held belief systems.

3. The Branding Lens

From a marketing standpoint, the redesign was bold but misaligned with the brand’s loyal customers. Analysts note Cracker Barrel’s stock dropped nearly $100 million in the wake of the backlash before rebounding when the old logo returned. Co-founder Tommy Lowe, at 93, called it a “pitiful” rebranding, signaling that the new CEO may have misread, or mis prioritized the brand’s value.

Yet others suggest it was a strategic thrust toward relevancy with younger customers; maybe too far, too fast. Again: different truths, different takeaways. Businesses update their brands all the time, trying to stay relevant, while attracting new market share. Going too fast in a world that’s already spinning out of control can cause an adverse reaction that confuses the market and threatens the business.

4. The Conspiracy Lens

The cynics and conspiracy theorists declared that the logo change was intentional; that drama was a PR stunt, created in order to break through all the noise and make the headlines.

More and more of us are becoming cynics. Trust is at an all-time low and manipulation at an all-time high.  It’s difficult to trust the media, or the intentions of a decades old business that decides to dramatically rebrand.

5. The Emotional Lens

Then there’s the emotional lens.  Nostalgia is powerful neuroscience. Some loyal customers saying they felt they were losing a piece of their childhood: front porches, pegged floors, rocking chairs, and Uncle Herschel sitting by a barrel.

This is a reminder that branding is all encompassing. Cracker Barrel’s branding was not just about the logo, but about the atmosphere, the country store with merchandise replicating the early 70’s.  Collectively the logo, the store and the atmosphere created a tangible emotion.  

“We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.”—from Seduction of the Minotaur, by Anaïs Nin (1961)

The Elephant We Cannot See

What if we’re all in the room with the elephant, but the lights are off?  Neuroscience says we don’t just passively receive reality; we predict and construct it, using our personal bias to make meaning. That’s why a branding change can feel personal, political, or prophetic depending on your brain’s prediction engine.

Perhaps our personal perspective has less to do with truth, and more to do with the box we live in and the lens we look through.  

 Marlene Chism is a consultant, speaker, and the author of   From Conflict to Courage: How to Stop Avoiding and Start Leading (Berrett-Koehler 2022). She's the founder of The Courageous Leader Ecosystem. Visit the web at MarleneChism.com