“uck” and “gure”, the ruination of marketing

John Kay is a writer, academic and a regular contributor to the Financial Times. Last week he had an article about “uck” and “gure”.

This is what he said: “The tendency to over-confidence is prevalent when answers cannot be found in encyclopaedias, as with questions such as "how will the internet affect the structure of business?" Unfortunately, English lacks a word to describe things people ‘know’ that aren't so. ‘Bullshit’ is not a scientific term. I propose two terms: ‘uck’ - unwarranted certainty in knowledge; and ‘gure’ - for the stock in trade of gurus, statements that have no substantive content. Uck and gure contribute to political success but business failure.”

My unwieldy equivalent of “uck” is “awkf” (a well known fact). This refers to a statement like “brand promiscuity always increases with age” or “it’s harder to influence older people using advertising”. Did you know that if you say an “awkf” enough times it takes on the mantle of certainty? Maybe that is an “uck” and/or a “gure” statement? Dick Stroud: www.20plus30.com