“There are certain social principles in human nature, from which we may draw the most solid conclusions with respect to the conduct of individuals and of communities.” —Alexander Hamilton (1788)
Sometimes woke CEO stupidity just begs for a follow-up column.
Last week in “About That Cracker Barrel Rebranded Brand Rebrand,” I wrote about my family’s deep customer connection to this revered Tennessee brand. Before our kids launched out into the world, it was our favorite Saturday morning breakfast stop, and on cross-country “See America” trips, it was always a destination.
More recently, Cracker Barrel (CB) was also the favorite Saturday breakfast destination of my since-departed Vietnam POW friend, Bill Gauntt. He loved those hot griddle pancakes despite the fact that they replaced their “pure maple syrup” with “pure natural syrup.” Fortunately, having a friend with a maple syrup farm in Vermont, who keeps me well supplied, I would bring my own to share with Bill.
It was also the favorite restaurant of our mutual friend, Vietnam Medal of Honor recipient Larry Taylor. We met there for lunch (a.k.a. “dinner” down South) the day after he was notified of his award by the White House.
I miss them both…
I also noted that I first wrote about CB in 2014, “Cracker Barrel Ducks the Truth — Swiftly Regrets It,” when then-CEO Sandra Cochran, bowing to the gender-confusion cult, announced the chain was pulling down all of its Duck Dynasty merchandise because family patriarch Phil Robertson paraphrased a Bible verse condemning homosexual advocacy.
That turned out to be a case study of a wealthy CEO not knowing her company’s grassroots customer base. The outrage was such that in 48 hours, Cochran issued an apology and put that merch back on store shelves. That was the fastest corporate marketing reversal in history!
As for the latest CB case study of a wealthy CEO not knowing her company’s grassroots customer base, you are undoubtedly aware that in an effort to prevent further brand degradation after CEO Julie Masino (and her Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Moore) rolled out their disastrous $700 million rebrand, last week, the company reversed course on at least its logo, bringing back Uncle Herschel.
For the last 50 years, Herschel McCartney has been represented by the iconic man on a cane chair, arm resting on a cracker barrel — before he, the chair, and the barrel were unceremoniously removed from the familiar logo above all the CB entrances, as part of Masino’s ill-informed inside-and-out rebrand.
Cracker Barrel’s stock, already deep underwater at $60 after it peaked a few years ago at $170, dropped again after the rebrand fiasco. Despite the restoration of the logo, which appears to be just a stopgap measure by Masino, the stock has not recovered.
In fact, a top CB investor, Sardar Biglari, who owns about 9% of CB, sent a seven-page letter to shareholders almost a year ago, warning that Masino’s plans were an “obvious folly.”
But clearly, CB customer objections run much deeper than the logo and interior design issues. They are rooted more in the rebrand away from the traditions that have drawn them to the restaurant for years: faith and family traditions. A frontal assault on those traditions has been CB’s gender/woke/DEI garbage during the past decade.
As I noted last week: “The real problem is Masino’s corporate culture mindset. What she should be dumping is all the gender/woke/DEI effluent that has seeped into CB’s corporate culture over the last 10 years, and get back to basics — the ‘values this company was built on when Cracker Barrel first opened in 1969,’ as Uncle Herschel set forth.”
Well, Masino, who was paid $7 million last year (about 360 times the median employee compensation) to make decisions that have enormous consequences for the livelihoods of more than 70,000 CB employees and their families, has now pulled a Hillary Clinton “wipe and scrub” operation.
In this case, Masino had CB quietly wipe and scrub the DEI and so-called “Pride” references from its official company website.
Quietly, that is, until the gender/woke/DEI crowd noticed, triggering mental decompensation similar to Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Previously, there was a page dedicated to that crowd, noting: “On behalf of Cracker Barrel’s LGBTQ+ Alliance & DEIB Team, we want to celebrate YOU for being YOU. It is our greatest Mission to ensure that Pleasing People means ‘all people.’” Isn’t that special!
That page now redirects to CB’s “Culture and Belonging” page, a watered-down fluff page that makes no mention of “LGBTQ+” or “diversity,” “equity,” or “inclusion.”
Another now “deep-sixed” page focused on DEI noted: “We are increasing our focus on leadership development and mentorship programs to better identify, recruit, and advance strong, racially and ethnically diverse talent.”
Gone.
A CB spokesperson trotted out this explanation: “In connection with the Company’s brand work, we have recently made updates to the Cracker Barrel website, including adding new content and removing out-of-date content. Several months ago, the Company also made changes to our Business Resource Groups that now focus all sponsorships or events on our corporate giving initiatives: addressing food insecurity, supporting community needs through food, and reducing food waste.”
Gosh, note that statement also makes no mention of “LGBTQ+” or “diversity” or “equity” or “inclusion.”
And on the revised “Culture and Belonging” page, previously referenced special opportunities for “Black, Hispanic, LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent employees” are now scrubbed.
Too slick by none, Ms. Masino! May I suggest that you are the “out-of-date content” that needs removing.
Americus Reed, marketing professor at UPenn’s Wharton School, succinctly summed up CB’s problem with his variation on “If it ain’t broke”: “I’m a fan of the original because, as they say, if it ain’t woke, don’t fix it.”
Those objecting to the removal of CB’s “LGBTQ+” virtue-signaling nonsense are citing a study by the loudest of the gender confusion pressure groups, GLADD. One of its echo-chamber surveys claims that Americans are more likely to buy or use a brand that supports LGBTQ+ rights.
In other words, they support a company that doesn’t discriminate against gender-confused people. That’s not the same thing as a company that promotes gender-confusion pathology.
And speaking of rebrands, GLAAD, formerly known as the “Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation,” kept its initialism but dropped what it represented because, in a 2013 rebrand, it decided the full name did not reflect inclusion of the latest of the gender-confusion manifestations, so-called “transgender” people.
For the record, support for the gender cult agenda started declining during the pandering Biden/Harris regime presidential pretense.
Finally, all in all, I give Masino’s effort to thwart further brand degradation after her failed rebrand a generous grade of F (for FUBAR).
(Oh, and for the Demos reading this analysis, “Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Even the Democrats hated the rebrand.)
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776
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