The Outdoor Advertising Association of America, Inc. (OAAA) has selected the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store outdoor program as the 2011 OBIE Hall of Fame Award recipient. This award, one of the most prestigious in the advertising industry, is bestowed annually to recognize long-standing excellence in the use of outdoor advertising. Cracker Barrel joins the ranks of celebrated iconic brands who have won the Hall of Fame Award since its inception in 1992. The formal award presentation will take place during the OAAA national convention in Miami on April 13.
“We are delighted to receive this honor and to be inducted into the OBIE Hall of Fame alongside some of the most recognizable brands in the country,” said Michael A. Woodhouse, Cracker Barrel Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Cracker Barrel was built with the comfort and the needs of the traveler in mind, so outdoor advertising has always been an important way of communicating with our guests.” Woodhouse added, “We see our outdoor program as a service to travelers, inviting them to stop in for a delicious taste of home-style country food, to relax in a rocker on the front porch, and to enjoy the unique items in Cracker Barrel’s authentic old country retail store.”
Buntin Out-of-Home Media has served as Cracker Barrel’s long-term outdoor agency. “We are very glad to see our work with Cracker Barrel honored in this way,” said Howard Greiner, Buntin Out-of-Home Media president. “The outdoor messages have consistently supported Cracker Barrel’s efforts to reach out to travelers on the highways that crisscross the country, and it has been a privilege to develop and manage a program that could gain such recognition.”
In 1969, Cracker Barrel’s founder, Dan Evins, recognized the potential to offer interstate highway travelers quality food, service and value consistently and conveniently by focusing on a mission of Pleasing People. The initial success of the concept drove continued expansion along the interstate system, and today Cracker Barrel has evolved into an indelible part of the automotive travel experience. It is now one of the leading and most highly differentiated restaurant chains in the United States.