Agency Creates Board Game That Explains Your Job in Advertising

So, what do you actually DO all day at work?

If you tell people you’re a doctor, lawyer or teacher, they instantly understand what you do for a living. Tell someone you work in advertising, however, and you’ll get an entirely different response.

To help explain the inner workings of your industry job, agency This January created AGENCYLAND, a board game about advertising that’s snarky, fun and informative.

Inspired by Monopoly and rather than buying properties, players win, hire and staff accounts. Pass go and you’ll get paid for your AORs so you can pay your employees! But, accounts come and go and pitches won and lost. Players might veer off to the Awards Alley, The Copywriter Carnival, Art Director Drive, or Account Manager Arcade. Just don’t get lost on “Layoff Lane” or stuck on the “Pitch Parkway.”

“We were playing Monopoly over the holidays and realized there are so many ways that a game of capitalism could be brought into the modern advertising world,” says Maggie Winters, ECD and Partner of This January. “We thought it would be fun to show our friends, family, and even our team what else goes into running an agency behind the scenes (and poke fun at ourselves in the process).”

Players might land on squares like “You won a lion! Charge double for this lap around the board;” “Late payment alert! Your biggest client won’t pay you until next time you land on Payroll;” “The auto account is now in review. Spin the pitch wheel for a chance to win this account” or “You’re on the short list! Pay $1,000 to travel to the award show.”

“We spent a couple weeks on the prototype and are currently testing gameplay to see if it’s actually fun—game design is such an iterative process,” Winters tells Muse. “We’ll be manufacturing them once the prototypes are complete — if anybody wants one, shout!”

And at the end of the game, your parents just might know what you do for a living!