Bud Light, and Now Cracker Barrel
People who do real work, struggle to raise children, balance finances, and have charted their moral course don’t appreciate being told how wrong they are by liberals.
By Mark W. Fowler
“Liberals, aghast, see the choices Americans make with their dollars and their ballots and announce — yes, announce — that Americans are sorely in need of more supervision by… liberals.” —George Will
The annoying thing about liberals is their never-ending condescension toward the hoi polloi, whom they see as the great unwashed. Something in their genes or their philosophy or, more likely as of late, their education makes them certain that they — and only they — have seen the light.
Not everyone sees it that way.
William F. Buckley Jr. once said he would rather be governed by the first 100 people in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard faculty. Liberal condescension covers every aspect of human life — from the cars we drive to the food we eat to the sexual trends we should follow to the heroes we should admire.
The thing is, liberals never learn. There is a long litany of failed theories, experiments, and marketing ploys that plague ordinary people. People who do real work, struggle to raise children, balance finances, and have charted their moral course don’t appreciate being told how wrong they are by liberals. Witness the pushback against Target’s transgender promotion and the Bud Light loss of market share over the Dylan Mulvaney nonsense.
The latest effort to bring the populace to heel is Cracker Barrel’s new logo, image, and remodeling. Cracker Barrel has been successful for decades because it reliably offered good food and good service in an atmosphere that evoked fond memories of the past. With its antique implements, signs, and household goods, it connected families by encouraging reminiscence of a simpler world. Not anymore.
Meet Julie Felss Masino, a communications graduate of Miami University of Ohio, who was recently installed as CEO of Cracker Barrel. She believes in eco-friendly practices, champions diversity and inclusion, and is implementing changes in the decor, logo, and business model. So, you can predict what is coming.
Cracker Barrel decided to embrace the LGBTQ agenda as a sponsor during Pride Month. It’s a moral imperative for liberals that no conservative and/or traditional Christian be allowed to enjoy the meatloaf special without being hectored about the many positive attributes of the LGBTQ lifestyle. So, while grandchildren enjoy their chicken fingers, a diner can explain the rainbow-colored rocking chair to them. It’s an inclusive dining experience.
The kitschy, cluttered, and interesting decor will be replaced with a sterile, intensely anodyne decor typical of the basest chain restaurant. The logo featuring an overall-clad middle-aged man leaning on a barrel will be replaced by a simplistic logo that Masino claims is even more closely tied to the iconic barrel and wordmark.
What utter nonsense.
All of this is an effort to move the company forward to the future, but the particular appeal of Cracker Barrel is the way it relates to the past. One wonders if Masino has even been to a Cracker Barrel. Most of its patrons are elderly, and the rest are families whose children are fascinated with the unique decor, which isn’t seen anywhere else, and the golf tee puzzle that has pleasantly occupied diners for hours.
It’s not just dining; it’s an escape to a time remembered fondly. Even the gift shop features products such as candy, soda, and tchotchkes no longer readily available elsewhere. But Masino disagrees. In addition to introducing alcohol into a family setting and embracing Pride Month, Cracker Barrel now wants to destroy its cachet.
Note to liberals: Someone really smart once said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Prediction: While Masino’s gambit may succeed, I suspect that she will join Alissa Heinerscheid, author of the Bud Light/Dylan Mulvaney debacle, as another example of how to lose money with overly aggressive marketing ploys.
One more thing: When the new plan became widely known, Cracker Barrel lost about $100 million in capitalization, as its stock dropped 4%. Masino may have talked to people at her bridge club who were thrilled and excited about the changes, but investors were not amused. Not a good sign.
Mark Fowler is a board-certified physician and former attorney who can be reached at [email protected].
