Jeb! Bush’s new logo elicits some question marks on social media

Jeb – or rather, Jeb! – Bush is trying hard today to get on a first-name basis with American voters.

The former Florida governor’s political team released the new logo on Sunday ahead of the expected launch of his 2016 U.S. presidential bid.

The logo also appears at the end of a campaign video stressing Mr. Bush’s record in Florida.

If the logo looks familiar, that’s because Mr. Bush has used it in all of his gubernatorial campaigns since 1994.

Some commentators saw the logo as a calculated attempt to distinguish himself from his father and brother, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, both of whom have sat in the President’s chair before. The younger Mr. Bush disputes that interpretation: “Jeb is different than George,” Mr. Bush said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “I don’t have to disassociate myself from my family, I love them, but I know that for me to be successful I’m going to have to show my heart and tell my story.”

(Affan Chowdhry: How Jeb Bush isn’t like his father and brother)

Mr. Bush isn't the only one to shun last names: Hillary Clinton's logo for her Democratic presidential campaign is a blue "H" with a red arrow running through it, which was also panned on social media when it was released.

Other social-media users ridiculed Mr. Bush's exclamation mark, or pointed out the logo’s similarity to the Yum! brand used by Taco Bell.

Mr. Bush is trying to stand out in a crowded field that already has 10 Republican presidential hopefuls, including his former political protégé – Florida Senator Marco Rubio – and a Canadian-born Texas Senator, Ted Cruz.

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With a report from Reuters