(æd) 

    Colloq. abbrev. of ADVERTISEMENT and ADVERTISING. Also attrib. and Comb., as ad-man, ADMASS.
 
  1841 W. M. THACKERAY in Britannia 1 May 284/1, I'll have my books properly reviewed; or else, I'll withdraw my ads. 1852 Househ. Words V. 5/2 We know that the really interesting ‘ads.’ are in the body of the paper. 1902 HOWELLS Lit. & Life 268 Ad is a loathly little word, but we must come to it. It's as legitimate as lunch. 1909 Collier's 22 May 15/2 So in a sense, the ad-man is a public entertainer. 1919 [see WANT n.²]. 1922 JOYCE Ulysses 158 Best paper by long chalks for a small ad. 1933 Scrutiny I. 400 Like all successful ad-men he has come to believe quite uncritically in what he sells. 1942 M. MCCARTHY Company she Keeps (1943) v. 132 He was the Average Thinking Man..that..ad-writers try to frighten. 1957 Observer 10 Nov. 15/4 That side of modern life..which bears the finger-smears of the ad. man. 1958 Ibid. 28 Sept. 21/7 The heroine..is straight out of the ad. pages in the shiny feminine magazines. 1959 Spectator 19 June 875/2, I cannot change my opinion..that ‘admags’ in their present form are contrary to the intentions of the framers of the TV Act.