I think that this is a brand new ad.  It's from Fantastic Films in Sept 1980.  We seen this specific ad template before among the ones that Zach posted about back in September, but this one's in color, and it features B2 instead of B1, which gives us a better view of the variant angled white banner for B2:



In this image, I can't read the text in the banner's first line, but the 2nd line is "Basic Set", which does align to the mocked up cover @ B2pre (as do the rest of the cover elements, down to the appearance that the logo/address/ISBN were pasted in (clearer in the ad than the Acaeum mockup image).  

The module doesn't look to me like it has a booklet in it, so that also supports Paul's sense that it's just an advertising mockup, as does the fact that in the color ad image here, it seems me that the B2 cover is B&W.

Does anyone have in their possession an angled B2, or was it just a prototype/used in advertisements?

Thanks for posting that, Allan. I had seen that ad before, but your scan is much better than the one I had, which was from an Ebay auction (clipping from a magazine). I also didn't know where it had been published. And I couldn't tell the B2 was B&W.

As you guys have pieced together, the words in the corner "FOR DUNGEONS & DRAGONS BASIC SET" match the 1st printing. There are two elements on the cover that are not found on the 1st print cover: The IBSN number, lower left, below "Printed in the U.S.A." and the last three lines of text on the cover that begin "Distributed to the book trade..."
Both of these elements are instead found in on the title page of the published module (1st print).

just for posterity in case anyone else searches around for a 1983 Dragon Magazine subscription advertisement insert flyer, I figured this might be a good place to save it. I recently ran across it on an ebay auction in a World of Greyhawk boxed set from 1983, which I didn't realize it was found in. I got mine originally in a red Basic boxed set from 1983. I guess it's possible it could've been found in the blue Expert set as well.

There's some different later Dragon inserts which also feature Roslof artwork, among a few others including the Cavalier and another with the Barbarian (re-purposed from UA). However, this Flying Dragon artwork was done specifically for this insert (original is actually a black & white painting).


example from a World of Greyhawk Boxed set (from ebay)

What about this finding?


** expired/removed eBay auction **


It's on the way and as soon as i get it, i will check whether the leaflet included in the box is the "Understanding D&D"!

ciaooo

grodog wrote in Interesting Items Currently on eBay:

sauromatian wrote in Interesting Items Currently on eBay:If it is the insert included with the game, & includes "Dungeon of the Ground Goblins," then some of the history should be re-written. I had previously heard that the game insert (for the UK GW edition of Holmes) consists of a photocopy of Jackson's article in Games & Puzzles magazine #48 (May '76). However the insert shown in this eBay auction does not have the same text, although it looks like the insert could have been expanded from the article (both mention Midgard & Hyboria). The illustrations also differ.

Nice spot aia!  I added both images from the auction to the ads thread @ Early TSR/D&D advertisements & catalogs

(copied over from here in the Interesting Items thread).

There are at least four different versions of the article/insert with 'Dungeons of the Ground Goblins', detailed here. The fourth version, with the Holmes Basic Set on the cover, just turned up this year; see here.

The 'new' article may be a later, re-written version of the article. While the text is different there are similarities in the topics, including a mention of the Midgard and Hyboria games in each near the beginning.
There's a staple near the spine - possibly this article was taken out of a magazine and re-stapled?

Here's an even larger image from the auction: (click on the image for a larger view)

I skimmed the thread and didn't see this one, from the back cover of The Spartan #10 (dated April 1976):

Do we have variations of the Minifigs ad from the Greyhawk folio captured anywhere?

I have a retail order blank dated June 1980.
It has 8 sheets, seven have a letter at the bottom right and printed on both sides :
A (picture 1), B, C, D, F, G, H, K and the last page has no letter and printed on one side only (picture 2). Page E (should be Ral partha Page 1), page I (?) and page J (?) are missing in my copy.
Back of page H is an ad for Gen Con XIII (picture 3).