10 words that only a marketer could have made up

Part of a marketer’s job is to make people see things differently. Sometimes this involves framing established concepts in new ways, and sometimes it involves making stuff up. New words, for example.

Many of these new words are portmanteaus, or words that combine two existing terms in an effort to explain a new concept. Some portmanteaus, such as smog (smoke + fog) or brunch (breakfast + lunch), have been around so long it’s easy to forget where they came from.

Portmanteaus run the gamut from useful to utterly silly (jeggings, anyone?). As ridiculous as some might sound, in the world of online marketing, these words can help us make sense of a rapidly evolving landscape—or simply provide a good laugh.

Here are a few of the best and funniest portmanteaus in marketing today:

1. “Thighvertising” (thighs + advertising)

Big in Japan, “thighvertising” refers to using the human body (specifically, the upper thighs) to advertise a product.