What does admass mean?
Admass is a noun coined in the mid-twentieth century to describe a society dominated by mass advertising and mass-produced consumer goods. In such a culture, people's tastes, aspirations, and even opinions are largely manufactured by commercial persuasion rather than formed independently. The term was popularized by the English writer J.B. Priestley, who used it as a sharp critique of postwar Britain's slide into consumerism, and it has retained that pejorative edge ever since. To call something admass is to condemn it as standardized, commercially driven, and hostile to individuality. The word blends 'ad' (short for advertisement) with 'mass', echoing terms like 'mass market' and 'mass culture'. Though never common in casual speech, admass survives in cultural criticism and media studies as a compact, memorable way to name the system in which advertising shapes collective life.
nounA society or social system dominated by mass advertising and mass-produced consumer goods, in which people's tastes and behaviour are shaped by commercial persuasion. The term is often used pejoratively to criticize such a culture.
- A society dominated by mass advertising and mass-produced consumer goods, whose members' desires are shaped by commercial persuasion.
"In his later essays, Priestley attacked what he called admass — a Britain where every taste was manufactured by the advertisers."
"Critics warned that television would drag the whole country into admass, where every appetite is created by an advertiser."
"He looked around at the shopping mall and sighed: this was admass made flesh."
Rarely pluralized; the word usually appears in the singular when discussing a single society or culture.
"Comparing two admasses across decades reveals how advertising tactics evolved."
Coined by novelist and playwright J.B. Priestley in the 1950s as a blunt label for a Britain drowning in advertising — and it still stings today.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of admass
Admass was coined in English in the mid-1950s by the British writer J.B. Priestley, who introduced it in his social criticism of postwar consumer culture. It is a blend (portmanteau) of 'ad', the common shortening of 'advertisement', and 'mass', referring to the mass public and mass production. Both elements have older histories: 'advertisement' derives ultimately from Latin advertere, 'to turn toward', while 'mass' comes via Old French from Latin massa, 'lump or dough'. The coinage spread through British journalism and cultural commentary of the late 1950s and 1960s.
How admass is actually used
The word carries a strongly pejorative, critical connotation and is chiefly associated with mid-20th-century British cultural commentary, especially the writings of J.B. Priestley. It remains relatively rare and literary rather than everyday vocabulary.
Easily confused with admass
An adman is an individual who works in advertising, whereas admass refers to an entire society shaped by advertising and mass consumption.