Judge, 1916-11-18 · page 2 of 28
Judge — November 18, 1916 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Johnnie Walker Red Label whisky advertisement** disguised as editorial cartoon commentary. The image shows three caricatured figures in formal Victorian dress (top hats) engaged in conversation about the product. The "joke" compares the whisky's longevity to Britain's imperial endurance. The pessimist character expresses alarm at aging (born 1820, "still going strong"), while the optimist praises the product's durability, explicitly likening it to "the British Empire" which is also "still going strong." The advertisement's core claim emphasizes the product's stability through non-refillable bottles preventing tampering, and that Red Label whisky is aged 10+ years before sale. This reflects early-1900s advertising's common practice of wrapping product pitches in satirical editorial cartoons to appear as legitimate magazine content rather than paid advertising.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Born 1820 —still going strong. | Pessimistic One: ““Tuex you are Not ALARMED?” Optimist: “Burss you No! Like ‘Jouxnie Warker’ Reo Lanet, tre Brrrisn Eapire Is— ‘STILL GOING STRONG. The secret of its popularity is inside each bottle—and is kept intact by the protection of the non-refillable bottle. Every drop of Red Label is over 10 years old before released from bond—the non-refillable bottle does the rest. GUARANTEED SAME QUALITY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. Agents: WILLIAMS & HUMBERT, 1158 Broadway, NEW YORK. JOHN WALKER & SONS, Lrp., Winsky Distitters, KILMARNOCK, Scorasn, coMmlebooks.com