• by Maarten Albarda , Featured Contributor, Yesterday

It seems every week a new brand is thrown into the public opinion swirl that is a perceived marketing boo-boo. Cracker Barrel was scorched for a logo change, and this week Nike has been skewered for its latest campaign expression. And just like public opinion, commentary from our industry is often swift, merciless and, perhaps, shortsighted.

People love to complain. We apparently feel happiest when we can be critics while we forget the fundamental truth of our profession: standing still in an ever-changing world is a marketing death sentence.

Cracker Barrel's annual revenue has shown an overall increase over the past decade, rising from about $2.68 billion in 2014 to approximately $3.47 billion in 2024. But despite revenue increases, net income and earnings per share have seen a decline in more recent periods. Net income fell significantly in fiscal 2024 compared to the previous year, and per-share earnings were also lower.

So you can easily imagine the senior leadership strategy review, and the CMO promising to refresh and reinvigorate the brand and thus their sales and income.

Now, you can argue about the logo refresh. Personally, I did not find it all that objectionable, but as we know the backlash was visceral. Why? Well, I understand that, too. Perhaps the execution was too sterile for a brand built on homey charm. What really happened of course is that it was declared a “woke” move and that rendered the change death on arrival.

The bigger question we should be asking is of course not "Is the new logo good?" but "What is the long-term risk of not evolving?" Brands that do not change will continue to be loved by a shrinking demographic but will be invisible to the next generation of consumers. Cracker Barrel's attempt to modernize may have been clumsy, but it came from a place of strategic necessity.

Then there's Nike.

If their ads continue to be inspo-driven, beautifully shot footage of athletes running/dunking/scoring, would they continue to command the cultural dominance they once had?

They, too, had their senior management away day, I imagine. The CFO presented the numbers that show a strong post-COVID rebound in 2021 and 2022. However, this was followed by a decline: sales peaked in fiscal year 2024 at $51.36 billion but fell by 9.88% in 2025. Their strategy of actively investing in a direct-to-consumer model negatively impacted on its performance. And on top of that, North America remains dominant, but growth in international markets has fluctuated, with Greater China showing significant volatility.

So what is the fix?   

Nike understands that its target audience, particularly younger consumers, are full of anxiety.

The new “Why do it?” messaging is designed to resonate with a generation that is internet-native, pragmatic, and questioning traditional milestones. Is it a good campaign? Is it a smart campaign? Is it a “Nike-worthy” campaign? All good questions, but NOT doing anything would most definitely not change the momentum for the business.

Innovation is messy. Evolution is uncomfortable. As marketers and advertisers, we should be the first to understand this. While thoughtful critique has its place, we must be careful not to foster a culture of fear where the only "safe" idea is a boring and ineffective one.