Judge, 1916-04-08 · page 27 of 28
Judge — April 8, 1916 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Kelly-Springfield Tire Company advertisement**, not satire. The cartoon at the top uses humor to introduce the pitch. **The cartoon's setup**: Shows silhouetted figures at a theater box office marked "S.R.O." (Standing Room Only). The joke plays on human psychology—when you get hard-to-get front-row seats, you paradoxically wonder if you want them. The crowd's enthusiasm confirms the tickets' value. **The advertisement's message**: Kelly-Springfield applies this logic to their product. High demand means customers must wait for tires, but this actually proves quality. Rather than switch to mass production (machine-made tires), the company insists on hand-crafted manufacturing, which requires training skilled workers—hence production delays are unavoidable. **The appeal to readers**: Buy tires in advance to avoid disappointment; the wait proves the product's superiority. This reflects early 1910s manufacturing philosophy where "handmade" signified quality over industrial efficiency—a pitch unlikely to work in modern consumer culture, where speed and availability are paramount.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
out, you want to see When they promptly hand you two front seats, you wonder if you want to see it at all. That’s human nature. The crowd confirms your judgment. So with Kelly-Springfield Tires. The demand is so great that loyal users often have to wait. We are sorry to disappoint, but glad that the tires have made so good. Now we're very busy trying to avoid further disappointments. Kelly prin gfield Artem bile ‘Tires - ea Made ATCHING up with such a demand as we have had for Kelly-Springfield Tires is not easy. In 1915 we doubled our output. Still we could have sold twice as many tires as we made. The demand is increasing steadily. Were we making machine-made tires it would be an easy matter to go out and buy a factory. Ina few months’ time we could be turning out a multiple product. But e not making machine-made tires. If we were we could not give the mileage which is responsible for your extraordin- ary demands on us. You want the tires only because they have made so good. It is the hand-made process which is responsible for the service which the tire yields—the care exercised in making them. We have bought a new factory. We are about to build another. But it takes time to train hands to make our tires. Ordinary workmen cannot do it. So time is necessary to effect an increase without lowering the standard of our product. We are sorry that temporarily you must be disappointed if you wait to buy Kelly- Springfield Tires until you need them. You can avoid this difficulty if you will anticipate your wants. Order your tires from your supply man a week before you need them and he can have them for you by the time you want them. You have proved that they are worth waiting for. A little foresight will pay you well, Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. ks Factories in Akron and Wooster, Ohio Executive Offices: Broadway &57th St., New York Send ten cents for the new game, “Going to Market’* comicbooks.com