Hey, Jeb! Let’s talk about that exclamation point!
Jeb! Let’s chat.
So, first of all, I like what you’re doing with the logo. It projects confidence and gumption. I imagine it’s how you want people to react when you walk into a room. “Jeb! Hey, man!’’
But what I think it says loudest is that you’re the “fun’’ Bush. Even though it doesn’t actually say Bush, because, wow, talk about baggage. Your focus groups probably told you that’s not the first thing you want people going to when they think about you.
Too bad, because you could’ve saved some time and just borrowed elements from your brother’s logo. Or your dad’s.
I’m not sure how you got here. It’s unusual. Maybe you were going for a Madonna thing, with only the first name. Or Prince. What’s next? The candidate formerly known as Jeb!?
And then you landed on the exclamation point. Did someone tell you it was innovative? That it made you seem young and hip? Maybe it’s just that four characters even out the logo better, and you couldn’t just tack another “B’’ onto the end of your name.
It’s certainly exciting.
The only issue here is that you really screwed over the rest of the GOP crew. You took the best piece of punctuation. What is Trump supposed to use now? A semicolon? Are you going to stick Ted Cruz with an em-dash? Make poor Rick Perry tack an ellipsis onto his sign? That would make sense, actually. It would give him time to think of the third government agency he’d get rid of if elected.
Another selling point with your logo is that you’re in good company. Think of all the venerable institutions, companies, and impressive cultural moments that have involved exclamation points.
First of all, you’ve got WHAM! This is great because it works for multiple generations: Those who remember WHAM!, and those who’ve seen Zoolander.
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You know who else has an exclamation point in their logo? Yahoo! You guys actually have a lot in common: A fair amount of unfortunate history and a desperate attempt to rebrand that isn’t going all that well. Not to mention an obscene amount of dollars despite any controversy.
You also share an exclamation point with E! Network. You know who’s on E!? The Kardashians. They’re another American dynasty who loves the spotlight, even if members from both aren’t always the brightest bulbs in the chandelier. Both your family and theirs have built up real brands, although you guys have less endorsement deals with perfume companies and more endorsement deals with superPACs.
Zappos! also has an exclamation point in it. This one’s a bit of a stretch but you have feet and they make shoes, so. There’s that.
Jeb!, don’t listen to the naysayers. When you’re grouped in with an ‘80s pop band, a ‘90s tech company, and a reality show that hit its stride before 2010, no one can say you’re anything but hip and with it.
2016 presidential candidates:
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