A RESTAURANT chain has sacked a consulting team after a rebranded logo caused major online furore.
Cracker Barrel faced intense backlash from long-time guests and fans after unveiling its new logo and redesigned stores.
Patrons first recoiled at the restaurant changes, which took away the traditionally old-school kitschy American decor and recast it with an interior design that critics described as “drab and soulless”.
The criticism was kicked up to a whole new level when the restaurant chain revealed its new logo.
Prior to the rebrand, the beloved logo featured an elderly man – known as Uncle Herschel – leaning over a barrel, however the new logo had removed him.
The folksy image had embodied the brand’s style of Southern hospitality for more than 50 years.
Critics of the change said it “appealed to the woke movement”.
In March, Cracker Barrel announced its partnership with consulting firm Prophet, who ultimately led the rebranding campaign.
In a statement, Prophet said: “In collaboration with Cracker Barrel, [we] are focused on shaping a new brand vision that will enhance market share while preserving the company’s unique heritage.”
“This new strategy will inform brand communication, restaurant redesigns, brand marketing campaigns and a redefined employee value proposition,” the statement continued.
The rebrand was met with an enraged public, causing the chain’s market value to tank.
At the height of the controversy, a huge $140 million was wiped off the company’s market share.
The drop in value caused further investor unease, which saw the shares drop by seven per cent.
Donald Trump even lent his opinion to the outrage, saying the chain “needed to remember its roots”.
“Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo,” he said.
“Admit a mistake based on customer response and manage the company better than before.
“They got a billion dollars worth of free publicity if they play their cards right,” Trump continued.
“Very tricky to do, but a great opportunity. Make Cracker barrel a winner again.”
Seemingly, the brand listened – reversing the changes that same day and sacking Prophet.
“We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel,” a statement posted to social media platform X said.
“We said we would listen, and we have.
” Our new logo is going away and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain.”
The backlash followed a similarly unpopular rebrand from a luxury car brand in August.
Former Jaguar Land Rover boss Adrian Mardell – who was behind the rebrand – later quit amid the chaos.
The brand faced heavy backlash for being “woke” after the Barbie pink marketing campaign.
Abandoning Jaguar’s traditional look, the glossy ad centred around bright colours and catwalk models and failed to feature any cars.
It flashed up with a number of slogans, including “live vivid”, “delete ordinary” and “copy nothing”.
And soon after, Jaguar unveiled the bizarre Type 00 concept car – a large, pink grand tourer – as well as a much-maligned new logo and badge.
It ditched the iconic big cat badge in favour of the word Jaguar, with each golden letter in lower case – apart from G and U.
Now, it has been confirmed that Mardell will leave in December after 35 years at the firm.
A Jaguar Land Rover spokesman told The Times: “Adrian Mardell has expressed his desire to retire from JLR after three years as CEO and 35 years with the company.
“His successor will be announced in due course.”
Months after the controversial ad, the British manufacturer announced it was axing up to 500 jobs, including managerial positions.
As well as slashing 1.5 per cent of its workforce, the Tata-owned brand also reportedly launched a review of its advertising teams.
Mardell faced severe criticism from famous names and fans alike following the rebrand.
The likes of Nigel Farage and even Elon Musk led critics, with Farage describing it as “woke”.
The Reform UK leader warned the automaker risked “going bust” due to its new design choice.
Earlier this month it was revealed that Jaguar sales in Europe have plunged 97.5 per cent.
The luxury British automaker registered just 49 vehicles in Europe in April, compared with 1,961 vehicles in the same month last year.
Meanwhile, Jaguar sales between January and April plummeted 75.1 per cent, with just 2,665 cars sold across the continent.
Globally, Jaguar sold just 26,862 vehicles for the 2024/25 financial year – an 85 per cent drop compared to 2018.
Jaguar has insisted the rebrand has “nothing to do” with its mammoth fall in sales.
POLICE have made the heartbreaking decision to scale back the massive search for missing four-year-old August “Gus” Lamont.
Officers spent a week scouring the South Australian outback but failed to find any trace of him.
The operation – one of the largest in the state’s history – has now been handed to the Missing Persons Investigation Section, shifting from a rescue mission to a long-term inquiry.
Assistant Police Commissioner Ian Parrott confirmed on Friday the grim turn, saying it was “unlikely Gus will be found alive” after days of freezing nights and harsh terrain.
“While we’ve all been hoping for a miracle, that miracle was not eventuated,” Commissioner Parrott said.
“We’re confident that we’ve done absolutely everything we can to locate Gus within the search area, but despite our best efforts, we have not been able to locate him, and unfortunately, we are now having to scale back this search for Gus.”
Gus vanished last Saturday evening while playing outside his grandparents’ remote homestead about 24 miles south of Yunta, north-east of Adelaide.
His grandmother last saw him at 5pm on a dirt mound, but by 5.30pm he was gone.
The only clue searchers uncovered was a single child-sized footprint about 500 metres from the homestead.
No clothing, hat, or any other sign of the boy has been found.
The search has covered hundreds of square miles of scrub and red dust, with police, SES crews, Australian Defence Force personnel, drones, sniffer dogs, helicopters and local volunteers.
At its peak, more than 100 people were on the ground each day.
But professional survival experts warned that a four-year-old in Gus’s thin clothing faced almost impossible odds after so many nights in near-freezing temperatures.
He was wearing a grey broad-brimmed hat, a blue Minions shirt, light grey pants and boots.
Commissioner Parrott said: “In the last 48 hours, despite the professional advice it being unlikely that Gus would have survived, we have maintained and in fact increased the effort to try and locate him and bring him back to his family.
“In the last 48 hours, despite the professional advice it being unlikely that Gus would have survived, we have maintained and in fact increased the effort to try and locate him and bring him back to his family,”
ADF crews were stood down on Friday afternoon as police vehicles began to pull back from the isolated property.
Earlier this week, family friend Bill Harbison released a statement on behalf of Gus’s devastated relatives.
“This has come as a shock to our family and friends, and we are struggling to comprehend what has happened,” he said.
“Gus’s absence is felt in all of us and we miss him more than words can express.
“Our hearts are aching, and we are holding onto hope that he will be found and returned to us safely.”
Locals have voiced fears the little boy could have stumbled into one of the region’s many unmarked mine shafts or wells.
Some of these century-old relics from gold and livestock days are almost invisible in the rugged country.
Police stressed they believe Gus simply wandered off and was not taken, describing the case as “very tragic” but with no evidence of foul play.
Yorke Mid North Superintendent Mark Syrus said it was “unusual” for Gus to roam so far but “who knows what goes through a four-year-old’s mind?”
The case is now officially a missing persons investigation — but police vowed not to stop searching for answers.
“We will continue to pursue ongoing lines of inquiry, and we will not rest until we can try and find the answer to why Gus has gone missing, and hopefully, for the family, return him to them,” Commissioner Parrott said.
A New York Yankees star made an incredible diving catch, which saw him somersault into the Boston Red Sox dugout.
The take occurred during the Yankees’ 4-0 victory in the Bronx over the MLB rivals.
New York’s win sees them win the AL Wild Card Series over the Red Sox and head to the next round of the playoffs.
During the victory, Ryan McMahon took a spectacular tumbling catch at the top of the eighth.
Outfielder Jarren Duran sent Cam Schlittler’s 95mph pitch high into the night’s sky.
The third baseman raced 75 feet after the ball towards the Red Sox’s dugout.
McMahon successfully took the catch.
But in doing so, he ended up somersaulting over the dugout railings and ending up upside down alongside the Red Sox players.
Despite the flip, he emerged with ball in hand, stunning fans and players alike.
Fans took to social media in awe of McMahon’s grab.
One commented, “Wow, what a play!
“Gotta love the hustle, Ryan!”
Another said, “Gravity lost, McMahon won.”
A third wrote, “Absolute insanity!
“McMahon putting his body on the line.
“That’s highlight reel material for years to come!”
Another remarked, “Bro thinks he’s Derek Jeter.”
Others echoed the sentiment, pointing back to Jeter’s iconic flip play against Oakland in the 2001 postseason.
The catch helped the Yankees keep their hopes of another World Series alive after a brilliant comeback.
They became the first team to lose the opener and advance from the expanded first round, which began in 2022.
They lost the opening game of the series 3-1, before winning back-to-back games 4-3 and 4-0 to make the next round of the playoffs.
Here, they face the Toronto Blue Jays in a five-match Divisional Series starting on Saturday.
ZINEDINE ZIDANE’S son Luca has switched international allegiances ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Luca, 27, is following in the footsteps of his legendary dad Zinedine, 53, although the Granada goalkeeper plays in a completely different position.
The legendary playmaker’s son is now set for the next big step in his career as he eyes a potential World Cup debut this summer in the US, Mexico and Canada.
But the keeper won’t be looking to emulate his dad’s glittering success with France.
Luca spent four years within Les Bleus’ youth squads, with his debut taking place in 2014 as part of the Under-16s.
However, the shot-stopper was called up by Algeria for the upcoming international break.
Luca will be part of Vladimir Petkovic’s 26-man squad for the qualifiers against Somalia and Uganda.
The Granada ace was born in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence.
However, he qualifies for Algeria through Zinedine‘s parents, who came from the Kabylie region.
Luca is the second of four brothers – Enzo, 30, Theo, 23 and Elyaz, 20 – all of whom came through the Real Madrid academy.
The keeper spent 14 years within Real’s Castilla set up and made his senior debut in 2018 during his father’s first stint at the helm.
Luca only managed two first-team appearances in three years, which included a loan stint at Racing Santander before moving to Rayo Vallecano and Eibar.
Algeria are currently top of their qualifying group and are only one win away from booking their spot at the World Cup.
Zinedine enjoyed tremendous success with France as he won the 1998 World Cup as well as Euro 2000 before his retirement in 2006, which saw him going out with a direct red card in the final where Italy won.