Kari Lake, senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, weighed in on Cracker Barrel's decision to restore its classic logo amid widespread backlash, drawing parallels Wednesday on Newsmax with recent marketing missteps surrounding Bud Light and Target.
"You'd think that CEOs would learn from what happened with Target and Bud Light — where they nearly destroyed … well, Bud Light did destroy the brand. I still know people who won't drink it," Lake said on "Rob Schmitt Tonight."
"Target did so much damage when they were pushing the trans and the pride stuff on us nonstop.
"They screwed up. President [Donald] Trump gave them free advice — and they finally did something smart and took his advice and went back to the old logo."
Trump on Tuesday urged Cracker Barrel in a Truth Social post to "admit a mistake" and "go back" to its original logo and traditional Southern homestyle branding. Cracker Barrel reportedly abandoned its new logo after a call with the White House in which company executives thanked Trump for his involvement in the matter.
Lake criticized the restaurant chain's doomed rebrand where it discarded its "Uncle Herschel" figure, part of the logo since 1977. The redesign, spearheaded by CEO Julie Felss Masino, replaced the familiar imagery with a minimalist, text-only design — part of a broader modernization strategy intended to boost relevance among younger customers and reverse a decline in traffic.
But the shift sparked a sharp conservative backlash, with critics accusing the chain of shedding its heritage in favor of woke sensibilities — echoing the missteps seen with Bud Light and Target.
The fallout was swift and severe: Cracker Barrel saw roughly $94 million in lost market value, and its stock plunged more than 7% before rebounding once the old logo was restored. Shareholder and investor reaction was harsh — some even demanded Masino's resignation.
Lake called out Masino's apparent disconnect from Cracker Barrel's core customer base. Masino, who came to Cracker Barrel from the corporate ranks of Taco Bell and Starbucks, never worked in one of the chain's locations, fueling criticism that she doesn't grasp the company's traditions.
"This was the same arrogance as the Bud Light marketing girl," Lake said, referring to Alissa Heinerscheid, the former Anheuser-Busch executive.
Masino has "probably never set foot in a Cracker Barrel," Lake said. "You have to know your customer. You have to respect your customer."
Lake said Cracker Barrel now needs to work on its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, plus other woke initiatives "that are happening behind the scenes because people have found out about that now. And that's a real turnoff for consumers."
She warned that CEOs who disregard legacy and discard brand values risk alienating loyal customers, sometimes beyond repair.
"Word to the wise: Anybody in the C-suite of any major brand and somebody comes into your daily or weekly meeting and says, I think we need to overhaul our image in our brand, that should be a huge red flag," Lake said.
"We've seen it blow up in so many people's faces for so long, and hopefully nobody makes the Cracker Barrel-Bud Light mistake again."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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