‘This a joke?’ CNBC conjures up Cracker Barrel vibes with announcement of new logo

CNBC is being raked over the coals for contributing to the non-imaginative, soulless, and sterile trend that seems to be taking hold in today’s decor, architecture, and marketing.

Who could forget the controversy over Cracker Barrel’s disastrous attempt to revamp its image? The beloved Southern restaurant chain known for its folksy feel and Americana memorabilia was switched out for a mostly blank orange-and-brown blob, and its walls were sanitized with meaningless “art.”

Americans pushed back, and Cracker Barrel corrected course. At least for now.

But the sterilization trend is marching forward in other areas, including media, where CNBC conjured up memories of the not-long-ago Cracker Barrel fiasco.

The news network decided to introduce a nondescript new logo set to launch on Dec. 13th. And the question to counter that decision should be … Why?

A new mark for our next chapter — introducing the new CNBC logo. Coming December 13th. pic.twitter.com/julTls7KsJ

— CNBC (@CNBC) December 4, 2025

The announcement had X users scratching their heads and going on a not-so-distant trip down memory lane:

This is a joke?

— Rich LoPresti (@RichLoPresti) December 5, 2025

Same vibes pic.twitter.com/GSQU0Ipyyt

— obj (@obj0x0) December 5, 2025

Congrats, you now look like a bank pic.twitter.com/spK9Ip5Nvi

— Stuntman Stu (@StuntmanStu) December 5, 2025

this will be a gap, hbo max, cracker barrel situation.

— andy b. (@andybowers_) December 5, 2025

Another satisfying day of watching a legacy brand destroy something that worked and call it modern.

— Fernando Nikolić (@basedlayer) December 5, 2025

They destroyed their brand long before this.

Wow, it’s impressively bad

— Nick (@nicksainato) December 5, 2025

That was almost a compliment!

Imagine how much they paid for that. And how soul-sucking all the corporate team brainstorm /design sessions must have been. Probably finalized the logo on a Teams call.

— Harry (@BalsagnaHarold) December 4, 2025

I know this look.

In Powerpoint where you ALMOST line up all your diagram icons, but one is clearly closer to it’s neighbor than the others

You futz with it for hours trying to get it aligned and equidistant, but eventually give up

“Good Enough” is the name of this look

— Lazy Saint Daniel (@LazySaintDaniel) December 5, 2025

Who did this? The company that was just fired by @CrackerBarrel ?

You should fire them too.

— Ed Hansberry (@ehansalytics) December 5, 2025

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