Judge, 1921-04-09 · page 23 of 32
Judge — April 9, 1921 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not a political cartoon but an **advertising contest page**. The illustration shows well-dressed people examining racing or sports cars, with visible license plates and period automobiles. The contest invites readers to identify which product the advertisement promotes and write a 35-word dialogue completing the ad. The $250 prize (substantial for 1921) incentivizes reader participation while serving as free advertising copy—contestants essentially write ads for the unnamed product. The illustration's style and subject matter (automobiles, racing, luxury) suggest an automotive advertisement, likely promoting a car brand popular during the post-WWI era. This represents an early **interactive marketing strategy**: leveraging a magazine's audience to generate advertising content while building engagement through prize competitions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Prize Contest This picture is an advertising il- lustration. It is similar to the pictures that have been used in like advertisements during the past year. Do you know what well- known product it advertises? If you do, you may win $250.00 Read the Conditions Below ‘To complete this advertisement we need a dialogue or monologue of not over 35 words which will represent the conversation of the characters in the picture and will bring out some desirable feature of the product advertised. What are the people in this picture saying? For the most apt and most cleverly worded dialogue or monologue that completes this advertisement and that is submitted to us by May 15, 1921, we will pay $250. Any one may enter this contest except professional advertising writers. Should the winning advertisement be submitted in identical wording by more than one person, each will be paid $250. The prize-winning answer together with the name and address of the winner will appear in the October r1 issue of this magazine. However, a check will be mailed to the winner as soon as the contest can be decided. Send in as many answers as you want to. CONTEST EDITOR, 16th Floor, 150 Madison Ave. New York comicbooks.com