Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Critiquing the Best and Worst Rebrands of All Time

Episode Date: April 23, 2026

🤔 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Think you’re good with money? Take our Money in America quiz!   If you love a good rebrand, glow-up, or before and after, today’s episode is just for you! From Cracker Barrel to Lindsay Lohan, we’re breaking down the most iconic (and disastrous) rebrands of all time.   Next Steps: 🎙️ Catch our episode Pros and Cons of Shopping in 2005 (Should We Go Back?). 🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour 📱 Submit a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George! Leave us a voicemail with your question at 877-306-1517 or send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it.  💵 Create a free budget and find more margin with EveryDollar.   Connect With Our Sponsors: Check out the FAIRWINDS Credit Union exclusive account bundle. Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. Get 20% off with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth.   Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🍹 Paloma Mezcalita Recipe by Join Jules 4 ounces mezcal 1 1/2 ounces fresh lime juice 1 1/2 ounces orange liqueur 2 ounces fresh grapefruit juice  4 ounces grapefruit soda   Instructions: Rim two glasses with salt or Tajín. Add mezcal, lime juice, orange liqueur and grapefruit juice to a shaker. Fill with ice and shake hard. Strain over fresh ice in your prepared glass. Top each drink with 2 ounces of grapefruit soda per glass.    Explore More From Ramsey Network: 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights  🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love a good rebrand, glow up before and after. You're going to love today's episode. So stick around as we reminisce on the most iconic brand transformations of all time. People did not like us for a while. For a hot second, that rebrand was tough. There was a special edition that was $850. Of Crocs. Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.

I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers. Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. So everything from pop culture, current events, and money. But first, let's talk about what we're sipping on, Rachel. This is the Paloma mescalita. I know.

Did we make this up? What is this? I doubt we made it up. We're not that creative. I'm sure we got it somewhere. But do they, like, make these at restaurants? I don't know that you could order this. And this feels like if you're at like a bougie, not a true Mexican restaurant,

but like upscale fancy. They'd have the Paloma Mescalita. Okay. And they charge $18 for it. I bet. I bet. I bet. Well, I can't wait to hear it.

Stick around until the end. We're going to give you. our rating and reveal the cost per glass. Well, one thing about us, we love a good rebrand. It's rebirth, new life. Man, when something's going downhill, and then it turns uphill, we are all for the win. We love the journey. We love a journey.

We love a moment where there's, like, conflict. You don't know if they're going to make it. And they, whether it's a person or a brand, and they find their way out. We are here to cheer them on. I feel like we've done a lot of rebranding here at Ramsey. We're kind of entering this toxic money culture. We rebranded credit card dependence to make debit cards cool again. That's true.

Rely on your own money. How about that for a change? We rebranded rice and beans. Now it's very mindful, very demure. Yeah, very demure. We made it cool to like try to save money on groceries and not eat out. And finally, we rebranded budgeting with our every dollar app. It's easy.

It's personalized. It's dare I say fun. I love an app. You know when rebranded they did and it was overnight. What was that? No one was expecting it. The day Ramsey showed a Ramsey show. Remember that?

Yeah. People did not. Who knew? Taking the word Dave out. And people did not like us for a while. I think y'all are liking us better. But for a hot second, that rebrand was tough for people. Yeah.

Well, when it's a solo act for 30 years. And you go, hey, what if we just introduced a new cast and crew? Yeah. I know. And sometimes, you know, I feel like usually it happens in a group. And then the one, Justin out of in sync or Harry Styles out of one direction, usually you pull one out. Nope. We added two.

We added to that show. So it's like if you took Justin Timberlake and then added the boy band. You'd be like, no, no, no, no, no, no. This is not it. Yeah, we just want him. I get it. I get it. But now, I think America loves us George. Dave has always been my Justin Timberlake.

I appreciate that. That's how I think of him. Oh, ma'am. Yeah, well, speaking of Justin Timberlake and on the boy bands, Baxter Boys, they've had a good bounce back. What a bounce back it was. Thank you, Vegas. And it still is.

But the 90s, like, some of that nostalgia is coming back. They're rebranded. They're coming back. Hillary Duff, have you seen her? Yeah. Girlfriend's on tour. Are they redoing the show, too? Did the, I don't know.

Lizzie McGuire, is it coming back? I heard that it might be. I don't know. That's like, that's iffy. Another one, George, Hannah Montana. She had a special come out. Yes, it's like a 20th special. Anniversary, that's exciting.

Can you believe that? Go Miley. Well done, Hannah. So yeah, so we'll see. We'll see what kind of comes back in circles. Love Story, the JFK Jr. I haven't seen this. TV show.

Oh, it's so good. So good. But that brings you back. Now they have it, the show. obviously based in the 90s, but I'll have all that Calvin Klein style come back. That feels like to win. If you take something nostalgic to, especially millennials, or even Gen X, yeah, we love it.

Bring it back. We will throw money at it. I don't know why. It's so true, though. You have our attention. Yes. I think because we long for that, in our minds, was a simpler time. Yes.

Of innocence and joy and less responsibility. You know, I think you're right. Just take us back. Take us back. Well, you know what? Music industry rebrand comes to mind for me. What? T-Tay.

Your girl, Taylor. Swift. Taylor Swift. She's really evolved and rebranded over time. Because she was country for the beginning of her career. Blonde curls. Yep. Country music. Big guitar, boots, all of it. And then she When did it switch for you, you think?

Was it red? The red too. Yes. The red album. The red album. Fourth album. Felt very different. She started moving into pop. Yes, because she had fearless, which still felt country to me. Yeah. Yeah. And then 1999. Arguably, her best work. You love that.

I'm fighting words. But I think if you look at her whole catalog, 1989 will hold up over time. It'll just be so good. Yep. That's the official crossover. That one sold $1.2 million in the first week. One point two million copies.

Copies, I'm sorry. Yes, what did I say? You said dollars. Oh, sorry. A lot more dollars than that. A lot more dollars for old T-T-T-T. That's a failure for Taylor Swift. For T-T-T.

Yep, it was the highest selling album of 2014. I'm sorry, 2014. Wow. Was that one. That's pretty good. Who knew? Uh-huh. That's impressive.

Yeah, I think she's matured. with her audience and that's really helped. Yes. Because sometimes the audience outgrows you and you sort of stay in your box. And what she did was just evolve and mature along with them. So it's like we grew up with her.

So proud of you, Taylor. All the breakups. So many breakups. I mean, you say that, but she's in her late 30s. She's going to date. She's going to date people. Keep the music up.

I'm worried though now with she's with Travis. This is long-term marriage material. Yeah, but a lot. Songwriting goes downhill. No, because I love the songwriting about him in this latest album, Life of a Showgirl, is so good.

It's very... Opelite. Oh, that is a good one. I'm so happy, so wonderful. Let's move into my world, Rachel. Let's talk about the rebrand of Apple. Oh, yes. More my speed.

On the verge of bankruptcy in the mid-90s. Yeah, and you were an employee. Former employee. You made it a 15-month run at the Apple store. At the Apple store, not the headquarters. But I did go to the headquarters for training. No, you didn't. They sent me to Cooper Team.

know. Stop it. I got the merch to prove it. Stop it. Really? Yeah. Is that like Silicon Valley area? Yeah.

And so I moved from a specialist role, which is like sales on the floor, to a creative role. Any creative role at an Apple store goes to headquarters, you think? At that time. I don't know that they still do. I don't even know that role still exists. Back in the day, I was like teaching grandmas how to use computers. What would that be like 2012?

This was 2008 to 2009. Oh, even before all that. Yeah. So all of 2008 and the start of 2009 before I. Yeah, I got... Which is kind of when the iPhone... Yes. Kind of started coming out.

So I started right after the first iPhone came out. Yes, I was going to say that's right. So I was there for the launch of like, what, 3G or whatever it was? Yes. Simpler times. Truly. That thing changed the world. Yeah.

Can we say that? And that's when the Apple Store was fun. And you were part of it, George. I felt like I was... I mean, it was a life-changing mission to help someone buy... Because it was like you're buying your first Mac. It was like, oh, I can't wait to show you all the things you can do. Oh, yeah.

Garage band, I movie. eye photo. So good. Make a calendar for the kids. Yes, which was just like mind-blowing. It was the best. To think that you could have an iPod. Yep. On a phone. The old tagline, a thousand songs in your pocket. Gosh. Can you imagine? What a shock. Well, for the last 25 years or more, they've been the luxury tech and lifestyle brand. Regardless of what you think of them, they've done a really good job. They're never the first to get there, but when they get there, they're the best dressed, as I heard it say. You don't think they're the first to get there? Well, as far as technology goes, there's other people who attempted it, right?

There was like the Microsoft Zoom, which was like the iPod competitor, but they just make a better product than everyone else. They do it so well. So all the Android people who are like, well, my phone did this way before the iPhone. I'm like, yeah, but this one just does it better. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was like thinking about an Android. Yeah, they made a radical branding pivot to simplicity and minimalism.

That was kind of their thing. And there was a revolution in the 90s amidst your average Dell and desktop setup. And remember the old Mac versus PC commercial? Oh, yeah. The marketing was brilliant. It was so good. Hey, if you want to be an old fuddy-duddy with an Excel spreadsheet, go ahead and use your PC. If you want to be a cool artist.

If you want to be a hip guy. Use an apple. Use an apple. Yeah. You know who else is going to simplicity? I'm thinking about this. Who? Is Elon Musk with Tesla?

Have you heard this? They're only going to make two types of cars. They're like nixing all the other cars. Yep. That's crazy. Yeah, your car is now vintage. It's discontinued. I know.

I can't buy my car. Like, it's done. That's pretty wild. Anyways, he's doubling down on what's working. Yes. I think that's a good strategy in life, George. What do you think in life? Because when you think about it,

products that have like 17,000 variations, it's just too much. In a world where we have decision fatigue, we're paralyzed by indecision. There's so many options. That's why Trader Joe's wins. You walk in, you don't have to think about what brands they have.

You just go, there's the ketchup. Yeah, and I just buy it. Versus you go into a Walmart, we're like, well, there's a whole aisle of soy sauces I got to choose from now. This is now stressful. So I do think we're heading toward that world where everything's just curated for us and we just know this is the best option.

This is simplicity. Okay. I like it. That's my take. I appreciate that. Well, limiting options I think does help with decision fatigue and also limiting your information on the internet. Also gives you some relief, doesn't it?

The segue. I could not have done a better. Well, delete me. Does that. Delaney me goes in and removes your information online on some of these data broker websites so that they can't sell your data and make money off of you. And then if they do sell it, they're selling it to sketchy companies and that puts you at risk for spams, scams, fraud, fishing, like all the stuff. So removing your data from the internet is so important, you guys.

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How did they do it? I'm still confused. Why did it become cool again? The teenagers. They start the trends. Why are they deciding these days? I don't know. I think they always do.

I think trends and stuff right on them. They decide what's cool, what's not cool. That's so wild to me. Slowly follow. I think, right? But all these teenagers, socks and crocs, it's like what they go for. I mean, they collaborated with Balenciennes. with Valenciaga in 2017.

So I guess they went like, oh, we're not the low end. We're the cool, like, luxury brand. It's now cool to wear crocs. Yes, it is cool. It made an appearance on the Paris runway. There was a special edition that was $850. No, there wasn't. Yes, sold out.

Of crocs? And now they do regular drops. Like Post Malone has a custom, Drew House by Justin Bieber. Oh, man. NBA athletes. So this is real. I don't know how it became a Gen Z staple,

but I'm not happy about it. We were just traveling last week, and I swear at the airport with teenagers. Filled with Crocs. Filled with high white socks and crocs. And then all the boy's hairs is like this. And you're like, oh, my gosh. History will not look kindly. You know what else?

It's popular with the kids. And I had to chat GBT at George because I thought, I don't know what is happening. There's a sweatshirt called Park. P-A-R-K-E, not Parker. And not just, I'm at a park. No, we're going to add. a knee at the end and I'll finish the word. It's a girl's name and she started a company about her last name where she just puts it

on a sweatshirt and they are everywhere, every girl from the age of probably seven-th grade. Is it a cute sweatshirt? Is the font amazing? No. Was she an influencer? I don't even know. You try it. I think so I should.

I think I should. Cruise. Anyways, it is like, I don't know. but then if she does drops and apparently can't find them. So, I don't know, but every college girl

on our flight from spring break had that sweatshirt. And I remember, all my sister loves where I like, what is this thing? So I chat, GPTed it,

like an old woman, and she's a TikTok star as she would be, Mrs. Park. I think it's like, per K? I don't even know what her name is.

I thought we wanted to be unique and like individual. No, they all look alike. They all look alike. Just like the bros. I mean,

We all looked alike. I mean, like, it's just different outfits. But, yeah, I wonder how much she's made. That girl. I just thought whatever she is in the world. Good for her. Parquet. That's what I'm going to call her.

Parque. Is there a little till day on there? Nope. Okay. I'm learning a lot. I am too, apparently. Let's break into the acting world. Oh, well, let's do it.

Matthew McConaughey. Man, he came back. Green Lights brought him back, that book. Oh. I think that's what's... That definitely helped him stay relevant. Well, I think he went like, in my head, Matthew was like, number one rom-com. Yeah.

You got wedding planner. I mean, yeah, he was in his rom-com. And he was always shirtless. And then he kind of a little bit dropped off the map. And then he came out with green lights. And now he does poetry. Have you heard this? Yeah.

He tours around and does poetry. Like spoken word. Yes. He does a lot of dramatic movies now instead of the rom-com or comedies. Yeah, but like who he is as a person, I feel like is so different. I think he probably got frustrated being put in a box saying, I'm not just a shirtless rom. I'm so much more than a good-looking guy shirtless.

I have depth. And so he started turning down all these comedy roles until people knew he was serious about taking on the more serious roles. Yes, yeah. And I think he's gone beyond acting. Like, in my head, he's like a... Yes. And he lives in Texas with his whole family.

And he seems like a pretty grounded guy. I think so. He feels very balanced. Yeah. But he won Best Actor in 2014 for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, which was a very serious drama. So I think that he turned a corner over a decade ago, and he's stuck with it. And he's still funny.

Like, he just has a very likable personality. Yeah, I think everyone likes my family. You interviewed him once, didn't you? I did. How was that? For Greenlights, for his book. Yeah. So good.

Yeah, he was great. Virtually. Yeah, I wish. Yeah. No. There is green. We all wish. Let's go Alphaba. A little rebrand for her, you know?

I didn't know. What was for brand before? The Wicked Witch of the West and Wizard of Oz. Oh. We didn't know her story until Broadway. and until the movies I think the movie made the play that much I mean obviously it probably just like explained

Yeah I had never seen Wicked on Broadway Oh you did okay No okay Like when I had my choice of it wasn't let's go to Wicked Okay For some reason Yes I guess I'm not like much of a theater buff

Because I saw it a couple of times Before the movie Like I loved it as a show I went in cold to the movie Okay And I loved it What'd you think? Did you see the second one?

I did not see the second one I haven't had three hours to spare Since having an infant But the first one I saw in theaters Yes. And I was mesmer. At first I had a bad attitude. I was like, I don't really like musicals.

This is going to be cheesy. But it really was captivating. What's funny is I feel like they take the villain of the movies and, like, create their own storyline, which I love. Like you got the Joker, Corella. Yep. Maleficent. Maleficent. Oh, that's actually a great movie.

That was a good one. That was really good. We love a villain. What is it about villains? I know. They're more interesting than the heroes, I feel like. Yeah, because you're like, what happened to you? Yes.

Who hurts you? I often think about that about people in the... comment section. What is your villain origin story? Like, why are you so mean? It gives you empathy towards this person to realize like they're a human being. They went through a really hard thing, did not process it in a healthy way. And now they're terrible people. Yeah, they're casting spells on people. We don't want that. We don't want that. But you can at least connect the dots of where they came from. Okay, what would your Ramsey villain origin story be? Oh. I mean, as Dave Ramsey's daughter. There's got to be something dark there we can explore.

You could really dramatize, like, the bankruptcy. I had, I was left in a little. Yeah. You could have done, like, a prodigal daughter situation. You know what I mean? You went to, like, crippling debt as, like, a revenge on Papa Dave for being so anti-debt. You're like, I'll show you. Yeah. That would have been cool in hindsight, but also awful and destructive. No, I was going to say, no, not just that. Is that interesting? I need a better one. Let me think. Oh, this could be good. But out of all the Ramsey kids, it would be you.

I got it. Okay. I frauded my parents. What have I scandal? You stole Dave and Sharon's identities? Yes, and I was never caught. And you change your name and identity. Who would that be?

Who would ever do that? And now we're looking for you in Cabo. But I did and I ran away with the money. Ooh, that's a good story. That's good. And you got a ton of plastic surgery. If I don't show up in this chair next week. Well, now what happened.

Don't come looking for me. We'll look for you. Cabo under a different name. Yeah. With a much different face after all the work you got done. I'd watch that movie. That's pretty good. And Dave is on like a John Wick level, you know, vengeance spree to find you.

But then he finds out it's his own daughter. And then it becomes more of a taken situation. And then what do you do? Oh. Guys. And then the cartel finds out I have all this money and I get kidnapped. But then my dad saves me. And then it becomes taken.

Oh my gosh. That's a great movie. John Wick meets Taken. Oh my gosh. Okay. What would yours be? Like your skateboard? morning down a cliff.

I'm not cool enough to be a villain. Nobody would buy that. Look at me, I'm so nice. And I just turned myself into a villain. Mine's a little more pinky in the brain. You know what I mean? Okay, that's good. Ooh, you like, you get in with your Apple skills and you...

I'd run it like a telemarketer scam or something. Yeah, yeah, you're in the computer world. I would hack, you know what I would do? I would hack the blockchain and get the crypto bros money and then use it for good. It would be a real kind of... Robin Hood situation. situation. Yeah, you're the everyday Robin Hood man in 2020.

I take it from the grifters and I gift it. All right. From grifter to gifter. Could you also, could I add a little bit more of our annoyance since we get so annoyed crypto bros? Put in my sports gambling. Could you rig a game and make a ton of money? Like you pay off the ref. The sports betters?

Yeah, get the ref on your side. You give the ref some of your crypto money and then he throws the games that you make a ton of money. And then I use that to buy And then I buy the sports betting companies And shut them down. Yes! That's our everyday hero. Well done, villain's story. Yeah, you shut down the whole industry.

That would be pretty incredible. Now that's pretty heroic. I basically create a monopoly and then destroy it. Yes. Well done. Okay, those are great. Guys. We will make those stories happen. Hollywood's got nothing on us. We will make those stories. Don't you worry. Don't you worry. And you could put all that money that you won in the sports bet world and put it somewhere safe.

One's credit union. Yes. As long as it was legally obtained. And as long as you use the smart bundle where you have your own checking accounts, your high yield savings accounts, your debit card, Rames's debit card, that debt is normal, be weird. It's the cutest debit card. And while you're traveling internationally with your different identity, there's no fees on your international transactions, thanks to Fairwins. There we go. Yes. 33,000 fee-free ATMs, 5,000 credit union partner branches. You can visit if you want to be in person. so much to love about Fair Winds. Yeah, if you're a villain or a hero,

I think it's great. So yeah, if you're a hater in the comments, you're going to love Fairwins. If you're a hero in the comments, you're going to love Fairwins. That's right. Go check it out. Yes. So if you go to fairwins.org slash Ramsey, you can open up your smart bundle, get signed up. It's easy.

Their app is awesome. Online. I mean, it is. Like, their banking online is so easy to use. And I found out they'll even refund your overdraft the first two times. So first two times, they'll get you. Third time, shame on you. So much grace.

So much grace. Go check them out. All right. Here's a little whiplash for the next rebrand. Milk. Just milk as a concept. Like cow's milk. Well, going back to the 90s, do you remember how much we drank?

The God milk campaign got us. Oh my gosh. Man, we were. You know what? We talked about this in another episode of Smart Money Happy Arr. And people in the comments were talking about there was like a conspiracy with the dairy farmers and the guy. There was like this whole people were in cahoots.

I love that word. It's kind of true. Yes. Yeah. I was like, oh my gosh. Well, anytime you see a giant widespread national campaign, just know there's lobbyists involved. There's some unscrupulous people. Something's happening. However you feel about milk and people have feelings about milk.

Rachel, I found out there's a group of guys on this team. Oh, no. That call themselves the dairy dudes or lactose lads, if you will. Oh, my gosh. What? What? Grown men who all enjoy drinking milk. And I thought that's not a group that needs to exist.

I thought if you're lactose, you can't drink milk. Well, lactose intolerant, you can't. Oh, but lactose. Yes. Okay, that's fair. All right. That's, I think, like a protein or something in milk. Oh, my gosh.

Did you ever have those little milk cartons at school at the cafeteria? And they were like paper? And just that wet cardboard taste after a while? Yes. That's crazy. They made us open those things. They were off. And sometimes you couldn't get it open.

It was terrible. And you had just, like, puncture it enough to. I would get a straw because I'm so classy. and then you'd fold it back up. Oh, yeah. And you'd have your straw. And the elite had the chocolate milk. Oh, fancy schmancy right there.

And that's where milk went from like, oh, you're now, that's not even healthy. That's a dessert. Let's just call it what it is. Yes. But parents were like, well, it's still milk. Still milk. Still got calcium. You're still drinking milk.

Yeah. That's crazy. We moved on now to the alternative milks. Yeah. A lot of oat milk. You used to be soy. And then they were like, well, soy's bad for you. Then it was almond.

And now they're like, well, almonds. And now it's oat. and they're like, well, oat has a lot of calories. You can't win with these people. I just want to know. How do you get, yeah. You don't want to know. I was going to say, how'd have been oat, right?

Is it that they... They, like, mix it with water and blend it and they strain it. And then they strain it. Okay. You can make it at home. People say it's super easy. Put a little maple syrup, a little salt in there. Hey, some people are doing raw milk, too.

That's back. In RFK's world, that's all that exists. The raw milk. I went to my mom. I need to ask my mom, she grew up on a farm, and the boys milked cows, like every morning before school. Like, they turned, like, they were a full-on dairy farm. Like, they should grew up on a farm.

All the celebrities pitching it, too? Those celebrities must have got paid good money to be advertising for milk. Oh, for the got milk? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. I mean, everyone, the cast of friends. That's right.

Like, that spread, oh, yeah. They got that milk money. That's crazy. Oh, my gosh. I wish I got in on that. Right. All right, you know, another rebrands that I personally love is the avocry. And Gap.

Abacrombie and Fitch. You were on both sides of this. It's my jeans. You're my jeans. You still love Abercrombie? You currently love Abercrombie. Yes. I stopped for a while because it was still like surfer.

Yeah. You know what I mean? I was like that's not my style. And then they came back around and it's cute. All your like simple, anything's like plain to me. Like a good plain shirt. Like staples. Good jeans.

I think that's the world. They got away from like graphic teas and all that stuff. Yeah, yeah. Nobody's doing that. Are we doing graphic teas? No. We're done with that. I think so.

done with sweatshirts with an influencer's name. We'll do that, apparently. RKK.K. Yep. Pretty good. Pretty good. Abrochromby and Gap came back. Gap apparently hired designer Zach Posen as creative director, went back to the basics, classic silhouettes, quality denim. That's what they were known for. Yeah. It's like the Calvin Klein 90s. Remember what I'm saying?

Like just a sleek black turtleneck and some black slacks. You know, it's all you need. And Abercrombie, they brought back the comfy casual during the pandemic, expanded women's sizing. So millennial women everywhere, Toast is never having a try on an XXXX small hoodie in a dark dressing room with loud music. Those are the days I remember. It's like you walked in and somehow you got sprayed with like a cologne and it was just like you couldn't see any of the clothes. I was like who's, what experience is this?

I know. Oh man, you get a headache just walking by it. Judge in the fitting room. You worked retail for a time, right? I did Libby Lou. That's right. And all the girls guessed. And you were like what, 14, 15 at the time?

I was 16. I would drive. Okay. And I worked there, I mean, maybe a solid three months. And then I thought, I got to get out here. You know, I lasted three months as well in my retail career. Okay, what was yours? It felt like a year, but it was at Urban Outfitters.

This was Post Apple. Yes. I went to Urban Outfitters. Good for you. Making minimum wage. Yeah. And the ladies, ladies, hey, if you're going to try on 40 pieces of clothing, don't leave it inside out in a giant pile for me.

It's been half the day, just trying to get the, and, you know, urban. That was me as a kid. You know what? No one told me. As a teenager, I will tell my teenage girls that. Like, you don't need to get it back perfectly, but make an attempt. And no one told me. And I was a terrible teenage girl in those, like I would.

I would just try things on and leave them. So I got 40% off all the clothing. So I stocked, all my paychecks went to the wardrobe. My $8 an hour disappeared very quickly after taxes and wardrobe. Yep. Oh, man. All those skinny jeans I bought that no longer fit me. Sad day. So sad.

Another rebrand that we love. She was on my prayer list for many years, and she's come, and she has made it, George. Prayer works. Lindsay Lohan. Man, what a solid, solid woman. You know, she was so great, and then she went a little rye. Yeah. Got a little too much plastic surgery, a little bit of too much filler.

Was there some drugs involved? Yeah, probably. Under the influence, some sort. Yeah, all the things. And you know what? She came out ahead. She dissolved the filler, changed. your life. Was it the Netflix Christmas movie that did it, you think? It was one of them, yes.

Falling for Christmas. A decent movie. Yeah, and she has a, she has kids and they live in Dubai now to, like, get away from all the, like, crazy enough of, yep. Has she been married all this time? No, not all this time. I think she got married. I don't know and she got married. But she's doing really well. So we appreciate that about Lindsay. Good for her. I know. We're excited for her. I would say Lindsay's role, though. That was probably the best was a mean girl's. Yes. And that was like the juicy track, the juicy track suit. Yes. Terry cloth.

Yes, it's like that Terrycloth. Did you own that at the time? I think I may, I had, yes, I did. That I feel like was the first iteration of the sort of athleisure era. Yes, it was the start of it. It was the birth. Like you can look good and be comfy. Yes.

And it was that. But now, thankfully, there's other brands that do it. I'm going to say much better. Yeah. Than a Terrycloth, juicy track suit. More timeless, a little more on, on, on, trend, which would be, I'd say cozy earth. I put cozy earth in that category. 100%.

I just wore two other things yesterday. They have like a long sleep black shirt. And what I love about everything, like, again, it's just a long sleeve black shirt. Like we're talking about staple items. Yes. But the cozy earth went, it's like, it's good material. It's thick. It's soft. It fits well. I wash it so many times because I wear it a lot. Yes, like all of it. I'm like, man, when you just invest in good clothing or betting or sheets, whatever it may be like, it is just, it's so nice to have good quality things, George.

because I, you know me, I buy a lot of cheap stuff, like clothing and things. So when you get something nice in clothing, you're like, okay, this is nice. So thank you, Cozy Coe. I'm a big fan of the, like, buy it once. You know, buy once, cry once. Where you buy quality and you go, all right, I spent that money one time instead of having to re-buy it often. And so I love Cozy Earth for that. As I know, this stuff's going to last me years and years and years, especially the betting with a 10-year warranty.

So go check it out. You can get 20% off at CozyEarth.com slash smart money. So good. All right next rebrand Oh, Nintendo Wow I feel like I fell for this rebrand

Did you have the original Nintendo? Yes The original original You owned one Because we didn't My neighbor Harriet's had one Did you go over Harriet's house? Yep, and I was in first grade

Played Mario What were you playing? We played Mario Not even Mario Kart It wasn't like 64 Oh yeah there was no Mario Kart It was the do do doot Yep we did that one

Oh God we thought it was so I remember thinking Oh my gosh, there's like a button. You press sitting here and it moves. Like the whole idea of video game. Like it became new. It became like this new thing. Yep, man.

And then I was a part of the N64. That was kind of my... Okay, that was like later elementary school. Yes, yes. And then we had the old we. I think that's where things went downhill. I never had a wee. The we was a flop, for sure.

But it was kind of cool, though, right? It motions. Yeah, the technology, I feel like was above its, time, but it still was a fail. And then they launched the Switch in 2017. This was a console you could play on your TV or in handheld mode. For people on the go now, where you're not always in front of a giant screen, people have their phones. That's right. They really did a good job with that. And by 2025, the Switch sold over 153 million units worldwide, one of the top-selling consoles of all times surpassing the original Nintendo DS. Oh, it did. That's pretty wild.

And what did I get for Christmas for my brother? the switch two wait you got a switch I got a switch wow how 12 year old of you I haven't owned a video game system since I was a kid how's it been

well because I have kids it's hard to play right I can't wait until I can play with my kids you know what I mean when it's like okay for them to have the screen time but right now I didn't realize you could buy Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

and it came out with a three and four speaking of rebrands the new edition oh geez and I beat it in a weekend and I was like well that was fun but I did get Mario cart and Mario Party. Okay, that's fun. So that Whitney can play with me whenever she so chooses. So romantic. So romantic. You know, our neighbor has one and he left it at our house. We had a big Nashville ice storm in January. Oh, yeah. And yeah, our neighbor, Anthony, he left his Nintendo Switch

because they have teenage girls and he's like, I don't know, he brought it for our kids to play because he knows we don't have one. And my kids were like addicted. So they kept it through the ice storm. It was like one of their like sanity moments. I know. Then we had to give it back to the neighbor. So we've not bought one for the family. sad day. You think it'll happen this Christmas? I don't know. Winston Give in? I don't know. Winston's more likely to play with them than you.

For sure. Yeah, yeah. Do you hate video games because you're not good at them? No, it's not that I don't, I don't hate video games. Well, I want to let you know in the comments. People are not fans of your hatred. Really? You and Jade went hard at them in our Jade episode. And I was defending the gamers out there, saying, hey, if you're like

married and worked full time and you game for fun on the side, great. But if this is your life and you don't have a job, then I got problems. Was I super passionate? You and Jade were very passionate that if you're a grown man playing video games out of my sight. So I just want you to be able to clear the air. I kind of still do feel that.

Sorry. Yeah. Now, if you have children involved, like, to me, I'm like, that makes sense. Like, Charles plays, like, he gets to play on like Christmas break, spring break, summers, like, when it's not during the school year. But you're saying if Winston, after the kids go down, it's like, hey, babe, I'm going to go game for a little bit. and got his headset on.

Y'all. Yes, love is blinds this season. So many of the guys had like gaming rooms and the chair and everything and I'm like, are you 12? Like blue LEDs around the room? Are you 12? Like, what are you doing? I still, I see, I'm obviously very passionate about it.

Yeah, well, I appreciate you doubling down on this. I try to give you a chance to redeem yourself. I know, I am. I'm back to doubling down. You've made very few fans. It's fine, though. It's better than sports betting in my book. There you go, guys. be a gamer than a sports better. Video games are better than being a degenerate gambler.

There you go. Call that a win. One last rebrand. This is the next rebrand that I love. Netflix. Do you remember the days, George, when you'd get a little red envelope that showed up in your mailbox with a DVD in it, and you got two a week, or two at a time. That's right.

You had to return it to get the new one, and we thought this is Blockbuster. coming to your mailbox and we thought it was the coolest thing ever. And then credit to them, right? The internet starts interfacing with our TVs, right? Starts to combine. And they started the whole streaming service. Like they were really the ones that paved the way. This was 2007. They became a streaming platform. They did in 2007. And then they were like, hey, what if we made original content instead of just licensing things that exist? Yeah, then they go above and, yes. That was 2013 with House of Cards. No way.

Great show. Not family-friendly, but great show. House of Cards is so good. That was their first original series. Yeah. And then Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things,

Bridgerton, and a lot more viral series. Stranger Things is a Netflix? Yeah. Original. Wow. Well done, Netflix. And then I think they, like,

sort of winning their first awards. You know, they were up against these big movie studios. There was a big joke years ago at the Oscars. And I think it was Ricky. Trevese. Yes.

And he's like, this whole show should just be well done Netflix, well done, because they were winning everything, like, so good. Pretty wild story. And I truthfully missed the days where they'd mail you the DVD. Do you know who else does? Because I remember he was not happy when it stopped.

Winston Cruz. No, my dad. Dave was a big, like, OG Netflix guy? Oh, at the, oh, it was like a big, yes, we caught them in the house growing up. Okay, so when did they, they had to have stopped? The streaming platform was 2007. Yep. When do you think they stopped doing DVDs?

It took a while. They really let it take a hour. Okay, so maybe I must have been home at Christmas or something from college, because I was in college then. So, but I remember dad specifically being like, their Netflix is stopping DVDs. And I was like, no. Oh, he was upset about it.

So upset, because they used it all the time. I love that. That is the most boomer day thing to do. My parents loved a Netflix red envelope in the mailbox. Well, it felt like, you know, when you get a package in the mail, it's exciting. Yes. And you actually watch that movie.

And now you scroll for days, maybe watch part of a movie. I feel like the, Again, the decision fatigue. Yes, 100%. It's real. It's so real. The paralysis of having too many options.

I know. But that's a good one. Yep. Well, gosh, George. Well, it's good. We love a rebrands. And we love a failed rebrand, too. Yes.

When the struggle is real, and they push through the suffering, and they come back. People have been waiting to mention Cracker Barrel as the big yikes on the failed rebrand. Oh, okay. Let's do three, let's do a quick round. Yeah.

Three failed rebrands. Number one, Cracker Barberl. That's way more juicy to talk about. Listen, and I know there was some stuff people were very passionate about for them to rebrands, and that's fine. I get that. But also, if I'm walking into a Cracker Barrel, do not let me walk into a first watch. Those new restaurants, I was like, no, no, this is not cozy. This does not, no.

This is not right. It's not right. So I was a, I'm glad they went back. Because it, and again, Southern, like, you go in and you're like, yes, Mama's Pancakes. Like even the breakfast items. Yeah. Like what they're named. It feels like you're going to Grandma's house, you know?

And they lost that touch. That's what we need a feel. Yes. Here's my hot take conspiracy. We do not want to clean modern restaurant. No. If we want that, we go to first watch. How's this for conspiracy theory?

They did it on purpose. Okay, I've heard that. And that actually. Because it put them back on the map. I agree. We're going to fight for this. And then they retracted. And then they went back up.

They did it to get in the news. You know what? I'm just saying. I'm going to say, if that was intentional, Well done, PR. I got to look at the stock price because if the stock price took a major hit

and then went back up and then went even higher. We need to look. I think it did, I think that's the reason they did it is because they got so much backlash and it dipped.

Like I think they're, and let's be honest. And again, I go to Cracker Barrel. Who was talking about Cracker Barrel before this? Very few people. It was just a thing you did privately. But this is my thing too.

Don't change what's like, well, to your point, it may not have been working because it may have been going downhill. I don't know. But also... I'm sure it has. No.

know what got you there, you know? Dance with the one that brought you. Dance with the one that brought you. So I'm glad you're back. That's good. Eggs in a basket. Cheesy hash brown. Get the biscuits and gravy.

I mean, all of it. Give me a breakfast. I don't do other meals at Cracker Barrel, though. I'm not a lunch dinner gal there. Oh, you're a breakfast. Just breakfast. Oh. Just breakfast.

And then you got to do ask, you have to ask for the bacon to be extra crispy because sometimes it's a little. It's a little soggy? A little, yeah. Yeah. But they're cheesy hashbron cassero.

And they claim things are scratch made there, right? No. They don't claim that? No, they don't claim that. No, they're... Maybe it was just the eggs. No, they do not. The eggs are like, are actual eggs.

You know what I mean? Versus like powdered eggs. Oh, for sure. Yeah, yeah. It's not like a... A few things I hate more than powdered eggs. Yeah, it'd be like going to like a, you know, those... I'm trying to think like a courtyard marriott or something, you know what I mean?

Where they have the buffet. Anytime like eggs are catered, they're usually those powdered eggs. Not good. It just hurts my soul. Not good. Okay. That was a battery brand. How about this one?

Twitter to X. Yes. No. We were calling it Twitter. It's tweets. Twitter. It will forever be Twitter. No one's calling it X.

No one's calling it X. No, we love a tweet. You know, even that. Tweet. It sounded great. There was no need to do it. No need to change it. It was an ego move.

Is he dropping this? Because he's dropping his Tesla cars. Remember how we're saying how he's? That's true. He's dropping the Model X. Maybe he changes it. He'll change it again. We'll see.

Wow. Number three, failed rebrands. Oh, man, they never came back up. You ready? I'm going to put them on my prayer list. Well, one of them already is. Amanda Bines and Brittany Spears. Man.

Say it. Okay, have you heard about cloning? About celebrities who are not really who they are inside their body. I heard this about Joe Biden. Yes. That there's a fake Joe Biden. Well, I think that was more like a stunt double. I don't think they thought he was like cloned.

Okay. But, like, there was a whole thing with Jim Carrey recently. We don't know about him. People, yeah, people say it. Avril Levine, there's, like, been a whole thing. Like, is it really Avril? Is it not? Yep, I remember that one.

A little bit of a Selena Gomez. Oh, that's right. There's a conspiracy around her. There's a bunch of them, bunch of them. But Britney's in the list when you look down, like that it's not really her. Her soul has been sold. She's not there. It's not her.

Someone else in there. And we don't know who. But she's dancing on Instagram with Nye. and we think that is not her. That is not her. It was a failed clone experiment and that's what we ended up with. Or she had a villain story and, you know, she was in a bad industry at a very young age. This is probably the reality.

That's more probable. And it probably psychologically trips you out. So we gotta bring her back. What do we do? How do we rescue her? I think I can because she still, I just checked yesterday, still follows me on Twitter for some reason. I don't know why, but Britney Spears, if you go to her follow, like she follows me. Send her a message, George.

Will you, right now? I did send her... Send it to her. She never responded. And remember, it's Brittany, B-R-I-T-N-E, not A-N-Y. Oh, yeah, nobody thought it was. I know, I'm just saying. Okay, she follows, to be fair, she follows 332,000 people.

I don't care. But she has 43 million followers. Send her a message, George. Okay, my last message was from September of 2023. Would you set? I said, hey, Brittany, thank you for following me. Not sure why you do, but means a lot. Excited for your new book.

love to help you promote it. Let me know. I connect you with my publicist. I thought if we can get Brittany on the show, it would be amazing. Hey, Brittany. Hey, Brittany. Sitting here. Checking back on this.

Would still. Circling back. Love to have you. Love to have you. On our show. And my friend Rachel. Smart Money Happy Hour. Yeah, that's great.

And it's like, my friend Rachel. My co-host, Rachel Cruz. Is praying for you. Is praying for you. And is a lifelong fan. Be blessed? George. All right.

I'll let you know if she responds. Good job, George. Wow. All right. You know the last message that I sent that a hater guy? I don't think he ever responded. Oh, that's right. Way back when.

He had issue with your pool. He said, stop posting you at your pool. Yeah, did not like my backyard. I just thought of that. And he never responded. He never responded. if Brittany will respond to you, do you think? No. I don't know how active she is

in like the DMs, you know what I mean? But we wanted her free. She's free. We hope that that was the right choice. Well, George, if people would just put us in charge of the world, I think we could fix it. It's not that hard. I know. We could have done it, but it's fine. It's okay. But we do love, we love a good story. We love a good rebrands.

We're here for it. We're here for it. We're here for it. We love a comeback. All right, though, before we spill the tea on our guilty-as-charged segments, what would you say about the drink? Give me a, give me a rating. This is the Paloma Mescalita. It has to be a 10 out of 10 for me. I would order this at a restaurant. This has mescal, which is kind of a smoky tequila vibe.

It's a very specific taste, too. So you have to like that. It's like the scotch of the tequila world, but not as intense. It doesn't taste like burning tires. Lime juice is in here, orange liqueur, grapefruit juice and grapefruit soda. So hence the Ita part of mescalita. It's kind of a margarita, mixed with a paloma, but made with mescal. I mean, so grapefruit juice and grapefruit soda would be the paloma, usually made with tequila.

It comes out to a pricey $5.56 per glass, but like I said, you would pay triple that at a restaurant. For sure. So this is worth making. Get the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend or whenever you feel like it. Love it. What's your rating on this? I gave it a 10 out of 10. I know.

I might say the same. I may say 9 out of 10. Okay. Just to be a little interesting. I would order it. You're so interesting. I would order it at a restaurant, but the mezcal, I don't think I'd pick that type of tequila over regular tequila. Got it.

The smoky, it's pretty smoky. It's an acquired taste. But it's delicious. It takes a, I'll say a mature palate that I don't think you have. Lord have mercy on my soul. I just wanted to be interesting. Just thought that'd be interesting. Just that's an interesting comment.

Oh, my gosh. It's not for everybody. It's not forever. All right, now it's time for guilty as charged. And this is where we're asking each other. Guilties charge question every week, and if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, George, this one came from Instagram. Who sent it?

Lauren, Placker. Thank you, Lauren. She asked, have you ever said something live on the Ramsey show that was awkward or putting your foot in your mouth? Every day. Oh, man. That's the hard part about this job, is especially Ramsey's show. when it's a live show and they just cut it and put it on YouTube.

Yeah. Unless you really flubbed it, it's just going to be on YouTube forever. Yeah, it's just there. And you just learn to live with that. Yes. What's the one that comes to mind for you? I know. I'm trying to think.

I mean, I know for sure. Or you say things that you're like, oh, pronounce that wrong or that innuendo was bad or whatever. Or you got something. It was inaccurate what you said. Or you forgot a detail about their story. Yes. And the audience catches it. Yes.

And you miss out. I told one girl, the math was kind of like, eh, on her car of like, She could sell it, she could pay it off. But I was so hard on her to just sell it. I was like, sell it. But then one of her main jobs was a driver. Like, she used her car for her career. Like, that was part of it.

And I was like, oh, man, I probably could have gone back and, like, tweak that advice. Yeah. And I think... Does she drive a different car and downgraded? I know. Maybe, but I think she had to have a certain level. You know how some companies you have to have, like, a certain level. Oh, if you're like a sales role, it needs to be a newer car.

And I just, like, I don't know. If you require that, you should just be issued a couple of come. company car. That's my honest. I agree. If they required you to drive a certain thing and drive a lot of miles. Yes, I agree. It's ridiculous. I'm with you. Or give them a stipend, you know, for a car. How about you? So many to choose from. I mean, everyone knows the infamous sell the horse story. But the one that's probably second to that that I got really roasted for was an 86-year-old woman who called in who was, I mean, had zero money. All she had was a paid-for house, a modest paid-for house, but had no money otherwise. And I told her to get a job. Okay. And here's why, though, here's why. She said, if I remember correctly, that six months prior, she was working. And so I went it was six months ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Then after I tell her to get a job, people, she says, well, I also have leukemia. And I go, well, you buried the lead there. Like, let's maybe start with that. Terrible. There's not much you can do. So then I got roasted. The headline was, Camel tells 86-year-old with leukemia, quote, get a job. Oh, no. You know what I mean? No. So that I regret. But here's the thing.

I was upset for her. I wasn't upset at her. Yes, yeah. And the other only option was like... I would sell... I'd sell the house and I'd rent a small apartment for a few years. Yeah, that's one option. Or get a roommate to help with the...

You know, she has an extra room. There's someone out there who wants a little golden girl situation. Or a young student, you know, who's not there much. And then the other option, which I was never going to tell someone to do, is get a reverse mortgage. Yeah, right. right. Even though like, yeah, well, you'll die. I would sell the house before that. Go ahead and cash out a couple hundred grand. Then she used to pay rent and so I forget the situation. Yeah, yeah, totally. It was just tough all around.

The truth is, the older you get, the harder it is to make a comeback. Speaking of rebrands. Yes. So yeah. Full circle. Young people. Invest in retirement. Please. Don't put yourself in that situation. Oh, that's tough. Well, so good. If you guys have a guilt who's charge question, though, make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel, because we read them. We see them. We screenshot. We see you. We texted to each other. You sent one last night. I know. I was going through my DMs.

I was like, oh, guilty's charged. Here we go. So, yeah, so thank you for those. You really give us some great ideas. And if you enjoyed this episode, you're going to love our episode. Pros and cons of Shopping in 2005. Should we go back? So much nostalgia.

A lot there, yep. So I'll put a link for you. And make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all new episode of. Smart Money Happy Hour.