Cracker Barrel made their new logo too abstract and then they dropped it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The old logo for the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain has founder Dave Evin’s Uncle Herschel nostalgically sitting in a wooden chair next to a barrel, as is shown above on the wall of their Boise location.

 

A press release on August 19, 2025 at PR Newswire titled Cracker Barrel Teams up with Country Music Star Jordan Davis to Invite Guests to Discover “All the More” this Fall described the abstract new logo:

 

“Its more popular menu offerings like farm fresh scrambled eggs and buttermilk biscuits even serve as inspiration behind the hues of a refreshed color palette featured in the new campaign. Anchored in Cracker Barrel's signature gold and brown tones, the updated visuals will appear across menus and marketing collateral, including the fifth evolution of the brand's logo, which is now rooted even more closely to the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That new logo with the sideways barrel and minus hoops (shown above) was so abstract that the Wikimedia Commons web page said:

 

“This logo image consists only of simple geometric shapes or text. It does not meet the threshold of originality needed for copyright protection, and is therefore in the public domain.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I squeezed it, squared off the bottom and top, and added a pair of hoops to produce the more recognizable version shown above.

 

The new logo got a lot of negative feedback, and it quickly was dumped. For example, an article by Lorraine Taylor at Fox News on August 22, 2025 is titled Cracker Barrel faces customer criticism after ditching iconic 48-year-old logo for new design. A second article by Ali Abbas Ahmadi at BBC News on August 26, 2025 is titled US restaurant chain Cracker Barrel scraps new logo after backlash. A third article by Megan Cerullo at CBS News Moneywatch on August 27, 2025 is titled Cracker Barrel refreshed its logo and paid the price. Here’s what brand experts say went wrong. Experts said they went generic and severed the logo from its roots. A fourth article by Sarah Fortinsky at The Hill on August 27, 2025 is titled White House claims credit after Cracker Barrel reverts logo.

 

 

How do ‘seconds’ get sold?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the Fairview Ave. Grocery Outlet store in Boise I saw pound bags of Belly Flops - irregular jelly beans marketed by Jelly Belly (as shown above). That got me thinking about other examples of how less-than-perfect products get sold by clever manufacturers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple decades ago, when I lived in metro Chicago, Lands’ End had outlet stores, and they sold clothing and other monogrammed products which had been returned by customers. As shown above, I got a large, leather-trimmed, soft-sided suitcase with three compartments for way less than retail. It was used on car trips until being replaced by another suitcase with wheels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used a #11 scalpel (shown above) and tweezers to cut and remove the monogram. (Those tools both came from the local American Science & Surplus store).

    

I also found that Pepperidge Farm had retail stores which sold cosmetically imperfect products (and bulk packages). About once a month I’d stop by and get myself a frozen layer cake as a treat.

 

Four decades ago, when I lived in Ann Arbor, I wanted a place to store my woodworking tools. It turned out that the Kennedy Manufacturing Company had a factory store in Van Wert, Ohio that sold their seconds for about 30% below retail. I drove down there on a Saturday and filled my car up with an 8-drawer Machinist’s Chest, a Two-Drawer Base Cabinet, a Chest Riser, and a 7-Drawer Industrial Cabinet with wheels. What had made that 7-Drawer Industrial Cabinet a second? It just had a single, thumbnail-sized paint defect on the back!

  

Tater Tots are the best story of a ‘second.’ An article by Kelsey McKinney at EATER on August 28, 2017 is titled The Tater Tot is American ingenuity at its finest. Over six decades ago Ore-Ida took the left-over scraps from cutting potatoes for French Fries, and produced little seasoned cylinders. 

 

Another article in the Boise Weekly 2016 Bar & Restaurant Guide provides more details.

Initially they priced them based on their cost to make. But that was so low customers were suspicious. Market research led them to raise the price, and increase their profits.   

 

A Dilbert cartoon with a caution about storytelling

 

The March 8, 2021 Dilbert cartoon titled Traumatic Story has a caution about when to tell a story during a sales presentation. The dialogue is as follows:

 

Salesman: Before I tell you about our newest product, I’d like to tell you a story about a traumatic experience I had as a child.

Wally: Is your story related to the topic, or is it just an excuse to yammer about something that happened to you?

Salesman: I’m trying to manipulate your emotions to short-circuit your critical thinking.

Wally: Okay. Carry on.

 

How is a car GPS like a razor?

How is a GPS like a razor? Both can be sold using a razor and blades business model. Blades go dull and need to be replaced. Map data for navigation on a car GPS will need to be updated. About six years ago I finally bought a little TomTom XL335SE GPS with a 4-1/4” screen diagonal (as shown above with a Gillette Mach 3) for about $75. Map updates at their web site weren’t included, so after two years I paid $50 (on sale) for an annual package that regularly was $75.

Once I got it securely mounted in the car, the TomTom GPS was very useful both around Boise, and on road trips. But came with a suction cup mount for the windshield that has a ring which snaps into the back, which it often didn’t stay there (perhaps due to dust). It also came with a black plastic disk that mounted on the dash via two-sided foam tape. That was a little better, but the GPS still fell off the dash unpredictably.

I looked over on eBay and found another GPS mount which fit into the cup holder to the left of the instrument cluster on the dash of my Honda Fit. That worked much better. I could pick up the GPS and mount, key in the destination, and then drop it into the cup holder. An address is entered going from general to specific - state, then city, then street name, and finally the number.

Around town I prefer side streets to the Interstate (I-84), and the I-184 spur to downtown (locally known as The Connector). But the GPS usually tried to send me via the Interstate. After I ignored it three or so times, it finally let me go the way I prefer. My TomTom GPS has been very useful for long trips. It showed me the exact lanes to take at busy unfamiliar interchanges, like on I-15 near the Salt Lake City airport.  

After two more years I updated again. Last month I got a single map update for $25. But, when I tried to download it, they warned me that my now clearly obsolete GPS just  didn’t have enough memory to hold the whole U.S. from their latest map. So I only fit in the western half. It was time to look for a replacement.

This time I went looking for a GPS with a larger screen (and more memory), and with lifetime free map updates. I found a $100 refurbished Garmin Nuvi 67LM with a 6” screen at Amazon. The GPS is very nice, but their suction cup mount was even worse than on the TomTom - even with the black plastic disk that mounted on the dash. I found a web article on Replacing the Garmin Nuvi suction cup mount that recommended other brands of mounts.

I got another cup holder mount to try. It didn’t work because the Garmin was too wide to fit down in the space between the door and dash. So, I cut a block from 1” pine to fit on the dash, painted it black, attached the suction cup mount via four sheet-metal screws, and used two-sided foam tape to hold it on the dash to the right of the speedometer. The power cord from the GPS dropped two feet straight down to the power (cigarette lighter) socket on the center console.      

When I turned on the Garmin it immediately required me to Agree with the following legal disclaimer:

WARNING
Do not attempt to enter route information or adjust this device while driving. Failure to pay full attention to the operation of your vehicle could result in death, serious injury, or property damage. You assume total responsibility and risk for using this device. NOTICE: Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit use othis device. It is your responsibility to know and comply with applicable laws and rights to privacy in jurisdictions where you plan to use this device. 

 On my new Garmin GPS an address is entered going from specific to general - first the number, then street name, then city, then state. Usually it guesses the city. I really like that it warns me a half-mile before each school zone (speed limit 20 mph when yellow caution lights are flashing). The first menu shows Where to? and View Map as the primary options. Under Where to? the next menu Options are Go Home, Address, Restaurants, Gas Stations, Foursquare, and Add Shortcut. But when I looked for restaurants near home, I found several out-of-date listings.  

An avalanche of posts from SlideGenius at the Public Speaking Network group on LinkedIn

About a month ago I noticed that CEO and founder Rick Enrico of SlideGenius was posting content from their blog. I have indicated post dates on their blog after the titles.

27 days ago he posted a single item:
Presentation Ideas from Ancient Greece: Explaining Ethos 
May 8, 2015

24 days ago he posted five items:   
Frank Sinatra: Make Your PowerPoint Presentations Sing 
May 12, 2015
3 Secrets to Make Numbers Interesting in Sales Presentations 
May 13, 2015
Consider the Eyes: White Space in Great Presentation Design 
May 14, 2015 
Use Neutral Facial Expressions in Professional Presentations 
May 14, 2015
Use Two Types of Charts for Business Presentations 
May 14, 2015

20 days ago he posted two items:
Craft Your Corporate Presentations into a Great Story 
May 15, 2015
Three Powerful Ways to End Your PowerPoint Presentation 
May 18, 2015

18 days ago he posted three items:
How to Introduce Your Product for Sales Presentations 
May 19, 2015
You Need a PowerPoint Specialist: Here’s Three Reasons Why 
May 19, 2015
The Perfect Font Combo for PowerPoint Presentation Designs 
May 20, 2015

16 days ago he posted two items:
Bringing Passion into Your Professional Presentation 
May 20, 2015 (he listed this twice on this day)
Canons of Rhetoric: Applying Invention to Presentations 
May 21, 2015

12 days ago he posted an absurd eleven items (four a 2nd time):
The Perfect Font Combo for PowerPoint Presentation Designs 
May 20, 2015 (a 2nd time)
Three Powerful Ways to End Your PowerPoint Presentation 
May 18, 2015 (a 2nd time)
4 Ways to Gain Self-Esteem Like a Presentation Expert 
May 18, 2015
You Need a PowerPoint Specialist: Here’s Three Reasons Why 
May 19, 2015 (a 2nd time)
How to Introduce Your Product for Sales Presentations;
May 19, 2015 (a 2nd time)
How to Maximize Eye Contact for Presentations 
May 21, 2015 (he listed this twice on this day)
Canons of Rhetoric: Applying Invention to Presentations 
May 21, 2015
4 Tips to Make Your Presentation Clear and Concise 
May 22, 2015
Applying the Rule of Thirds to Your PowerPoint Presentation 
May 22, 2015
PowerPoint Storyboard: A Powerful Way to Share Your Ideas 
May 25, 2015
Consistency: The Key to an Effective Sales Presentation
 May 26, 2015

7 days ago he posted six items (one blog post for a 2nd time, and one for a 3rd time):
The Perfect Font Combo for PowerPoint Presentation Designs 
May 20, 2015 (a 3rd time)
PowerPoint FAQ: Five Common Slide Design Questions You’ve Always Wanted to Ask
May 25, 2015
Fix Design Annoyances for Great PowerPoint Presentations 
May 26, 2015
Consistency: The Key to an Effective Sales Presentation 
May 26, 2015 (a 2nd time)
Plan Ahead to Avoid PowerPointless Presentations 
May 27, 2015
How Not to Depend on Your PowerPoint Presentation Scripts 
May 29, 2015

6 days ago he posted one item:
INFOGRAPHIC - A PowerPoint survey shows that 72% of audience members find it annoying when a presenter reads his slides out loud

2 days ago he posted one item:
3 Tips for a Direct and Conversational Business Presentation 
June 4, 2015

Over 30 items in less than a month is an average of more than one a day, when one every two or three days would be reasonable. But 11 in a day and including 4 repeats seems like outrageous overkill given that he has plenty of blog content to work with.

It shows an inability to make decisions that you’d expect from a confused child rather than a mature adult. Perhaps it is time to take the advice he delivered last October in a post titled Second Chance: Overcoming a Negative First Impression.  

Two Puck magazine images were adapted from Look out, there, boys! and Dull at the Library of Congress.

A thumb up for Jeffrey Gitomer

I’m not just a bitter critter who only complains about people spouting nonsense. Actually I enjoy much of what I see or read. Jeffrey Gitomer’s recent 830-word article, Do Your People WANT to Listen to You?, caught my eye because he began:

“I’m at a corporate conference about to give my 90-minute, customized, personalized talk. I spent hours preparing it - as I do all my talks - and I’ve spent the last 20 years improving my speaking, presentation, and performance skills.

I’m not just a speaker, I’m a student speaker.”
 
That article also appears in his Sales Blog, and in the Washington Business Journal BizBeat blog. If you scroll to the bottom of his About page you will find that he is a member of the National Speakers Association, got his Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation in 1997, and was named to their Speaker Hall of Fame in 2008. Yet he calls himself a student and he’s still learning.

That article lists the following ten strategies and elements for a presentation:

1. Use genuine humor.
2. Ask poignant questions.
3. Ask intellectual questions.
4. Tell a story that relates to you and them.
5. Customization based on their real world.
6. Incorporate their philosophy, mission, brand, and theme.
7. Give five to 10 major points they can walk away with and use immediately.
8. Have simple slides.
9. Very little talk about you.
10. End with emotion. (Maybe even ask for the sale).
 
If you think you’ve already achieved perfection, then go read another of his articles: How lousy are you? You probably don’t even know!