Long John Silver’s, the nautical-themed fast-food chain, has unveiled a new logo that removes all reference to its signature seafood in a risky move that experts say could spark a Cracker Barrel-style customer backlash.
The company, which has 485 U.S. locations, has swapped the pale red fish swimming above its name in its most recent logo for a golden chicken and has modified its name, adding the words “Chicken + Seafood” below “Long John Silver’s” in the new logo.
Industry analysts told the Daily Mail that the seafood chain’s reboot echoes Cracker Barrel’s rebranding fiasco in August, which ultimately saw the Southern-style restaurant chain reverse course on its $700 million overhaul after widespread customer backlash.
“There is absolutely no reason to picture a chicken as part of the Long John Silver’s logo and signage,” Jerry Thomas, CEO of the analytics firm Decision Analyst, which works with restaurants, told the outlet.
“It makes you wonder if Long John Silver’s did the necessary consumer research to fully evaluate the reactions of customers to such a radical change,” he added.
Named after a character in Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 book “Treasure Island,” Long John Silver’s was founded in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1969, building its brand around the nautical themes of coastal New England.
The chain had grown to more than 1,500 locations by the 1980s and had established itself as the place for on-the-go fish before years of declining sales and ownership changes caused it to file for bankruptcy protection in 1998.
Company executives reportedly decided it was time to modernize the brand to make it more “inviting.”
“We’re a 56-year-old brand, but some of our restaurants look like they’re 75 years old,” Christopher Caudill, the company’s senior vice president of marketing, told Nation’s Restaurant News.
“We need to update those to be more inviting,” he added. “It’s costly, but the return is fantastic.”
Part of the brand refresh reportedly included testing new chicken menu items, such as a $6 basket and strip-style offerings.
“Guests have been telling us for years that our chicken is a best-kept secret,” Caudill said.
While Thomas conceded that “not everyone likes fish” and said that “the addition of a limited number of chicken items to the Long John Silver’s menu might be a good idea,” he cautioned that the decision to rebrand with a focus on chicken is “dangerous and ill-advised.”
“Chances are high that Long John Silver’s customers will be turned off by the new logo and signage,” he said.
In a statement obtained by the Daily Mail, a company spokesperson said the chain is “not shifting away from our heritage.”
“Long John Silver’s has been well known for our fish for decades, but we want to recognize another one of our fan-favorite offerings, our chicken,” the spokesperson said.
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