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Cracker Barrel Drops Agency Behind Logo Change; Tesla Sets Sales Record as EV Subsidy Ends; L.A.’s Showbiz Economy Looks Like a Disaster Movie
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Good morning. Today, an agency is cut loose so the Old Timer can live; Tesla breaks out of its funk in the latest quarter; and entertainment workers in Los Angeles worry that this downturn is different.
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The Old Timer leans on a barrel in the logo that would not be replaced. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty
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Cracker Barrel cut ties with the marketing firm behind the chain’s troubled rebranding campaign, including its now-abandoned new logo and redesigned restaurants, Heather Haddon and Suzanne Vranica report.
The family-dining chain in the news for all the wrong reasons said it had ended its contract with Prophet, the global marketing firm hired last year as part of a three-year strategic plan to update its brand.
San Francisco-based Prophet has previously worked on campaigns for entertainment, hospitality and consumer companies.
Cracker Barrel said in March it had hired the firm to work on brand communication, restaurant redesigns, marketing and employee programs.
But critics derided both the streamlined logo and the modernized restaurant design as attempts to run away from the chain’s country heritage.
The chain is now converting the four restaurants that got the update back to more traditional formats.
Prophet declined to comment.
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Content from our sponsor: Deloitte
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How Restaurants Can Serve Up an Effective Social Media Strategy
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Modern restaurant-goers are following the recommendations of social media creators and influencers, creating an opportunity for brands that prioritize social-first engagement tactics. Read More
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Conventional EV sales are three-fourths of Tesla’s business today. Elon Musk wants to change that. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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Tesla set a new sales record in the third quarter in a surprise reversal of the steep declines that have plagued the electric-vehicle maker this year, Becky Peterson writes. But the sales turnaround isn’t likely to last.
Tesla’s global EV deliveries grew 7.4% from a year earlier thanks in large part to U.S. customers rushing to use the $7,500 federal EV credit before it expired at the end of the quarter.
CEO Elon Musk on top of that has laid out his vision for pivoting toward autonomous vehicles and robots, where he sees more promise than in the global EV race.
Musk has said that new vehicles in the Tesla lineup won’t have steering wheels or pedals, starting with the two-seater Cybercab, which is scheduled to roll off the assembly line next year. That bet won’t pay off without a major shift in how consumers use cars plus changes to the various global regulations that oversee autonomous vehicles.
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$66,000
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Levy on a coffee shipment from Brazil that New York chain Joe Coffee described in an email to customers as it added a 1.5% “tariff surcharge” to all items. Bad weather in the world’s coffee-growing regions and President Trump’s import taxes are pushing costs up and driving customers to anger.
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Entertainment industry workers got through last year with the mantra ‘Survive ‘til 25,’ but jobs are even more scarce this year. Photo: Philip Cheung for WSJ
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L.A.’s creative middle class is hanging on by a thread, if at all, as Hollywood makes less stuff, Ben Fritz reports in a vivid portrait of the people affected.
The film business hasn’t fully rebounded from the pandemic, while streaming services are done chasing growth at all costs. Some workers fear consumers are permanently pivoting to YouTube and social media, and AI is making inroads on tasks that once required human workers.
Animator Rachel Long worked steadily for more than a decade on shows like “BoJack Horseman.” When her last series ended in 2024, she found herself competing with hundreds of other experienced artists for a handful of available jobs. So the 39-year-old retrained to be a phlebotomist, joking that she “went from drawing blood to drawing blood.”
“I hope we can get back to some semblance of how it used to be, so I can work with my friends and collaborators doing something creative that others can enjoy,” Long said. “But I have to face the really real fact that it might not happen.”
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This Nov. 18 and 19, CMOs will gather in New York for The WSJ CMO Summit to explore fan-fueled growth, AI in marketing and the evolving CMO–CEO partnership. Join the CMO Council and be part of the conversation shaping the future of marketing leadership.
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Ridge Weibel’s first blind box two years ago was a baby figurine wearing a snake hat, just as he had hoped. He has now spent more than $10,000 on blind boxes. Photo: Ridge Weibel
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Buying blind-box toys is all the rage. A Wall Street Journal simulation shows how addictive it is. [WSJ]
TikTok Shop has made live shopping a staple in beauty brands’ marketing strategies. [Glossy]
Fast-fashion power Shein said its first physical store will open next month in France, describing growing French desire for “more physical touchpoints with our brand.” [Euronews]
Amazon combined its Amazon Fresh and Happy Belly private labels under a new name, Amazon Grocery, lining up with other house brands like Amazon Basics. [RetailWire]
Production workers on commercials have ratified their first union contract. [THR]
Wikipedia is the latest platform to face pressure over allegedly suppressing conservatives, but it poses a different challenge than Meta or YouTube. [Politico]
Japan has nearly run out of Asahi Super Dry, its most popular beer, after a cyberattack shut down key breweries. [WSJ]
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