Don't buy the Cracker Barrel fallacy

Don’t buy the Cracker Barrel fallacy
Online petitions and viral outrage give the illusion of influence — but real power lies elsewhere

By Ashlie D. Stevens
Senior Food Editor
Published August 28, 2025 12:10PM (EDT)


(Salon) The Cracker Barrel logo fiasco had all the makings of a small-town play staged in a national arena: the beloved image swapped for something sleeker, the tumble in the stock price, a rush of nostalgia-tinged outrage and, inevitably, a retreat. Somewhere in the middle came a White House-distributed illustration of President Donald Trump rocking contentedly on the brand’s porch — proof that even a new typeface can become a proxy battle for American culture.

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Cracker Barrel even tried to play both roles at once. On Tuesday, it posted a note insisting the new logo would stay, but apologizing for the rollout — “we could have done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.” By Wednesday, the company had scrapped that line entirely, announcing the “Old Timer” logo would return, along with a reminder that at Cracker Barrel, it’s always been about “delicious food, warm welcomes, and the kind of country hospitality that feels like family.”

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Today, it’s easier. People click their way to action on sites like Change.org, rallying for the return of KFC potato wedges or demanding that Starbucks drop its non-dairy milk surcharge. They air complaints on social media, like the thousands who urged Cracker Barrel to reverse their decision. There’s a thrill in it, the sense that a few keystrokes might bend a corporate titan to your will. And sometimes, in tiny ways, it does. But mostly, it’s an illusion.

The promise is that we can shape behavior; the fallacy is that the power rarely reaches beyond cosmetic concessions.

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Even when outrage seems to leave a mark — like Bud Light’s sales slump, which, it should be noted, followed real-world boycotts from both the political left and right — the effect is modest compared with the levers that truly shape our lives. Online uproar can disrupt a campaign or nudge quarterly sales, but it rarely touches the deeper structures: labor practices, environmental policy, tax avoidance or the hollowing-out of local economies. .......................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/08/28/dont-buy-the-cracker-barrel-fallacy/