Judge, 1919-10-18 · page 36 of 36
Judge — October 18, 1919 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **cigarette advertisement**, not political satire. It features a portrait of an unnamed man in formal attire, positioned as a testimonial for Fatima brand cigarettes. The ad's pitch emphasizes a "sensible" middle ground: Fatima contains "just enough Turkish"—not too much like competitors' "straight Turkish" brands, but enough to satisfy smokers. This appeals to consumers seeking moderation and quality balance rather than excess. The secondary claim references Palm Beach, a luxury winter resort, asserting that Fatima outsells fancier, more expensive competitors there, positioning it as the smart choice among the wealthy. The implicit message: sophistication means restraint, not ostentation. The ad targets affluent consumers by suggesting that premium brands' elaborate packaging doesn't guarantee superiority—Fatima's balanced formula proves more popular among discerning Palm Beach elites. This reflects early-20th-century advertising strategy: positioning mass-market products as secretly preferred by the wealthy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“How much Turkish?” Fatima steadily outsells the straight Turkish cigarettes because Fatima’s blend, instead cf containing too much Turkish, contains just enough Turkish—just enough to taste right, and just enough to leave a man feeling right, even if he smokes more than usual. Have you ever tried smoking “just enough Turkish”? ..and at Palm Beach A fact: Here at Palm Beach —smartest, perhaps, of all winter resorts — Fatima has for two seasons held the sales-leadership formerly en- joyed by the expensive, fancy- boxed "Sp Turkish cigarettes. FATIMA «7 Sensible Cigarette Comicb: