Selected timelines showing history of advertising, media and marketing

Three historic agency names disappear in WPP agencies’ merger
As the J. Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam and Wunderman agency names are being retired at WPP, Ad Age looks back at their legacies.
Published: October 24, 2023

A brief (sort of) history of agencies
This timeline captures agency highlights from 1945 through 2019. Published with Ad Age’s 75th annual Agency Report. We dug through our archives to see just how the agency business has (and has not) changed.
Published: April 29, 2019

History Lesson: A Timeline of Ad Agency Consolidation
A flurry of agency deals and moves in the mid-to-late '80s put players in place -- WPP and Martin Sorrell; Publicis and Maurice Levy; Omnicom and John Wren -- who would go on to lead the advertising business through decades of consolidation. Ad Age combed its archives to provide an overview that helps put the megamerger of Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Group into context.
Published: August 6, 2013

Procter & Gamble Co.'s Advertising Spending, 1987 to 2012
How P&G compares at its 175th anniversary (2012) vs. its 150th anniversary in sales, ad spending, R&D and employment.
Published: Oct. 29, 2012

A Century of Women in Advertising
From "I Wish I Were a Man" cigarette ads to "My Butt is Big and That's Just Fine".
Published: Sept. 23, 2012

Ad Age Picks the Top 10 Female Ad Icons of All Time
From the Morton Salt Umbrella Girl to Progressive's Flo, we choose the most memorable women of the last 100 years.
Published: Sept. 23, 2012

Chevy Timeline
100-year timeline of General Motors' Chevrolet including TV commercials, print ads and historic headlines from Advertising Age.
Published: Oct. 31, 2011

TV's Share of U.S. Advertising, 1948 to 2010
TV's portion of ad spending since the dawn of television.
Published: April 18, 2011

Old and Improved: Relationships That Last for a Century
Clients and agencies cite trust, respect, adaptation. If there's a problem, change the people, not the agency.
Published: February 14, 2011

From the Great Depression Through the Great Recession: A Brief History of Marketing
A look at 80 highlights from Ad Age's first 80 years (1930-2010), compiled from our archives, Ad Age's Encyclopedia of Advertising and additional research.
Published: March 29, 2010

Up in Smoke: Documents From the Annals of Tobacco Marketing
A collection of internal memos, press releases and reports that changed the way cigarettes were sold
Published: March 29, 2010

How GE Birthed NBC in 1926
The Peacock Network's many owners. Timeline compiled as General Electric Co. sold NBC to Comcast Corp.
Published: December 07, 2009

Special Report: McDonald's 50th Anniversary
McDonald's timeline. McDonald's came a long way from a purveyor of 15-cent hamburgers to a multinational marketer whose annual revenue exceeds the gross domestic product of Belarus, the 100th country to be blessed with a McDonald's restaurant. From San Bernardino to Beijing, here's how the premier fast-feeder evolved over a half-century.
Published: July 25, 2005

75 Years of Ideas
Key events from Ad Age's first 75 years, 1930 to 2005.
Published: March 28, 2005

Advertising History, 1704 to 1999
From Advertising Age's "The Advertising Century" Special Issue.
Published: March 29, 1999

A Look Back at 50 Years of Agency History
And how Ad Age's Agency Report covered it.
Agency History, Part 1
Agency History, Part 2
Agency History, Part 3
Agency History, Part 4
Published: April 13, 1994