Judge, 1918-05-04 · page 2 of 38
Judge — May 4, 1918 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **advertisement, not satire**—specifically for Nujol, a mineral oil laxative product made by Standard Oil Company (New Jersey). The ad uses a young girl holding a doll to market constipation relief to parents. The messaging emphasizes that establishing regular bowel habits in childhood ensures lifelong health. The tagline "Regular as Clockwork" pairs the product name with promises of mechanical regularity. A notable detail: the text mentions "kit size to United States soldiers and sailors anywhere," indicating this ran during wartime (likely WWI or WWII era based on *Judge* magazine's publication period). By modern standards, the ad's focus on children's digestive health and its frank discussion of bowel regularity would seem unusually direct for mainstream advertising.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Nujol for constipation As a child she is health incarnate. She will keep that clear-eyed charm all her life if she is taught the priceless habit of regularity now. NUJOL will make her—and you—regular as clockwork. It is absolutely harmless. Try it. On sale at all drug stores. Send soc. and we will ship new kit size to United States soldiers and sailors anywhere. STANDARD OIL CO. (NEW JERSEY) BAYONNE NEW JERSEY “REGULAR AS “s CLOCKWOR k” comicbooks.com