02 Oct 2009
Yuppies. Who can forget them? As synonymous with the 80s as mobile phones the size of bricks; gloopy hair gel; and Gordon ‘lunch is for wimps’ Gekko.
Yuppies was an acronym (sort of) for Young Urban Professional. Those upper-middle class, upwardly mobile twenty-to thirty-somethings that barked into their phones, carried a Filofax and wore red braces. And that was the girls.
But using acronyms to describe social groups has been around since the 1950s, when the term WASP was coined by Andrew Hacker in American Political Science Review. WASP or white Anglo Saxon Protestant was used to describe affluent white North Americans of north European descent (who were often neither Anglo Saxon nor Protestant. But, hey).
So, what other acronyms do marking bods use? October’s The Marketer explains.
SINBAD: Single Income No Boyfriend Absolutely Desperate. Ouch. An acronym for all the Bridget Joneses of the world.
SKIPPY: School Kids With Purchasing Power. Those annoying kids who want a 3G iPhone, a Nintendo DSi, the new shape PS3 and Wii Sports Resort. And they’ve got the cash to buy them. Grrr.
DINKY: Double Income No Kids. High earning couple without the financial drain of sprogs. Marketers love these people. We hate them.
SITCOM: Single Income Two Children Oppressive Mortgage. Yeah, not a great place to be right now.
YEPPIES: Young Experimenting Perfection Seekers. These peeps shop around looking for the perfect plasma screen, the perfect relationship, the perfect career, home and lifestyle. But will they recognise it when they get it?
So what acronym would you be?
I’d be ACNEE. Amazing copywriter never earns enough. Oh dear.
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