Judge, 1916-06-24 · page 27 of 29
Judge — June 24, 1916 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page advertisement**, not satire. The opening illustration and headline ("A man is born with relations; he picks out his friends for himself") use a folksy analogy to argue that car owners, like people choosing friends, should personally select their tires rather than accept manufacturer defaults. The ad's core pitch: Kelly-Springfield tires cost more but deliver superior mileage. Car manufacturers equip new vehicles with cheaper tires meeting only minimum guarantees—they won't pay extra for better performance. However, informed buyers who replace tires themselves recognize Kelly-Springfield's value and willingly pay premium prices. The company claims demand so exceeds supply that customers pre-order tires before needing them. This positions Kelly-Springfield as a premium, sought-after product chosen by discerning consumers rather than foisted upon them by manufacturers. It's a straightforward argument for conscious consumption and brand loyalty in early automobile culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
So with tires—the tires that are on a new car the car manufacturer selects. When a car owner buys tires he selects them himself. Nearly every Kelly-Springfield tire used is selected by the car owner. Kelly -Sprincfield Ante bile Tees “Had Made HERE is an important fundamental principle involved in this tire selection. You ought to understand it. Few users buy Kelly-Springfield tires until after they have had experience with other tires. And fewer, having once used Kelly-Springfield tires, voluntarily discontinue their use. There is a reason for both conditions. The reason few users try Kelly-Springfield tires first is that the initial selection of their tires is made by the manufacturer who equips the cars which they buy. And Kelly-Springfield tires cost more. The manufacturer must put tires on the car he sells, but need not put on tires which give excess mileage. He is only obliged to equip with tires which yield the mileage most tire manufacturers guarantee. That is all the car buyer expects. If the car manufacturer equips with a tire which gives a greater mileage than this, he has to pay the additional cost out of his own pocket—and why should he? manufacturing Considering proper economies, he equips with tires which cost him least and yet give reasonable satisfaction. He equips his car with higher priced tires only when hebuys advertising value for his car, as well as tires. Now we cannot meet the manufacturer’s price re.,uirements. Hand-made tires cost more to make and yield excess mileage. We cannot com- pete on price when the excess mileage doesn’t count. Sowerarely sell tires tocarmanufacturers. Kelly-Springfield tires are sold almost exclu- sively to car owners who pay higher initial prices because they know they receive excess value. At present the demand is far in excess of our production. The demand has been so great that owners order tires before they need them to get them when they need them. It is important to you to know these conditions and to knowtrue tire economy. Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. Factories in Akron and Wooster, Ohio Executive Offices: Broadway& §7thSt., NewYork Send ten cents for the new game, “Going to Market” comicbooks.com