Judge, 1912-11-16 · page 2 of 24
Judge — November 16, 1912 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical talk by Gilman Ostrander promoting advertising's cultural value. The piece argues that reading advertisements is essential to modern progress and staying informed about consumer innovations (vacuum cleaners, thermoses, etc.). The small cartoon shows a primitive "cave man" figure, illustrating the article's central conceit: those who ignore advertising are intellectually backward, "dead" to modern civilization. The satire is tongue-in-cheek—Ostrander makes exaggerated claims that advertising is "a living force" and essential to quality living, gently mocking both advertising's self-importance and consumers' susceptibility to its messaging. This reflects early 20th-century optimism about consumer culture and technological progress as markers of civilization itself.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Advertising of Advertising—A Series of Talks—No. 43 The Man Who Doesn't Read Advertising LADSTONE believed that one way to keep pace with modern progress is to read advertising. Do you agree with him? There are a few who don’t. They think they waste time reading advertisements but really they miss a lot. They belong to the age of the cave man. Advertising is an index to our modern progress. It’s more than an index—it’s a living force—it never sleeps. It is tire- less in pointing the way to greater comfort, and greater con- venience. It shows us how to get the best out of life. time and It sug- gests to us short g cuts, step savers. Through advertising we know about vacuum cleaners, about thermos bottles, fountain pens, talk- ing machines, ° fireless cookers, electric toasters and goodness knows what not. Things that make living worth the while. So you must read advertising to be up to date. Of course, there are thousands who are getting along without advertising, but they are dead. lettan [See next week’s Talk. It has a message for you.| comicbooks.com