Date the Ad: An Advertising History Quiz
Play at adquiz.marketinghistory.org
I have a fun update this week: I made another game! It’s called Date the Ad.
You can play it at adquiz.marketinghistory.org.
How to play:
The game is simple: Each round presents you with a historic advertisement, and you guess the year it first ran.
Get the year exactly right and you’ll earn 10 points.
You still earn points if you’re slightly off. The further away you are from the exact year, the fewer points you get.
Each game is 10 rounds. So a perfect score is 100 points.
PS: If you need a hint, switch to “multiple choice” and the game gets a lot easier.
You can play five games before you start seeing the same ads twice.
Why make “Date the Ad”?
I published The CMO Game six months ago, and was blown away by the response. Thousands of marketers from around the world played it. I received notes from professors who introduced it to their classes. (Play it at cmogame.com).
It showed me that there’s an appetite for educational games around marketing, so I knew I wanted to make another one. This time around, I decided the game should tie more closely to the “history” angle of this podcast, which is how I came up with the ad dating idea.
It’s a fun way to look at how advertising, media, and culture all intersect through the ages, and to revisit classic campaigns. I include “Did you know?” trivia tidbits on each ad, as well as links to podcast episodes that dive deeper into connected topics.
Like The CMO Game, I vibecoded this game myself so it was a great way to learn what’s possible with new AI tools.
Play It and Share It
Date the Ad is 100% free. No login. No email capture. No in-app purchases. I remove all the cookies I can (it links to YouTube and Wikimedia, which have their own cookies). If you’re a professor, feel free to share it with your class!
I’d love to hear what you think, and I appreciate feedback on how to improve Date the Ad. Email me at andrew [at] marketinghistory.org or find me on LinkedIn.