Judge, 1921-05-07 · page 32 of 32
Judge — May 7, 1921 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Chesterfield cigarette advertisement** disguised as humor content in Judge magazine. The "mystery" joke: A man tells his cook a story about a ventriloquist who quit vaudeville to sell wooden parrots instead. She doesn't understand what a ventriloquist is, so he explains it. Later, he blows cigarette smoke at her silent parrot and says "Poll, how d'you like it?"—the parrot squawks back "They satisfy!" (a Chesterfield slogan). **The satire:** The cook can't determine whether the parrot actually spoke or if the man is ventriloquizing. This setup allows the ad to claim Chesterfields are so satisfying that even a parrot would endorse them. The accompanying text box mocks Chesterfield competitors, claiming other cigarettes are "mild" OR "satisfying" but never both—whereas Chesterfields uniquely achieve both qualities. It's vintage advertising-as-entertainment, using absurdist humor to embed the product pitch.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
With acknor The Mystery of the etty ee ell Air-Tight Tins of 50 Ask your dealer to show you the new vacuum-sealed tins of 50 Chesterfields A compact, convenient and absolutely AIR-TIGHT packing —the cigarettes keep fresh indefinitely ° A FUNNY paper recently SLIPPED ME a good laugh WITH A wheeze about A FAMOUS ventriloquist AND WHY he had quit THE VAUDEVILLE stage discovered IT SAID b HE COULD make more jack SELLING WOODEN parrots SO WHEN I got home. 1 PASSED the joke TO OUR cook, who owns BOTH A speechless parrot AND A sense of humor. BUT SHE muffed it BECAUSE SHE didn’t know WHAT A ventriloquist was SO I had to explain it AND ON the way ont | BLEW just a whiff. OF CIGARETTE smoke AT HER amusing old Cook’s Pet Parrot ° FOOL OF a parrot WHICH NEVER talks AND | said, “Poll. HOW D'YOU like it? AND To this day It’s Got ae guessing WHETHER Tr Was GoBK OR THE blamed bird WHICH SQUAWKED back “THEY SATISFY." YHESTERFIELDS speak for themselves They let you know you're smoking. They “satisfy” and yet, they're mild. An impossible combination, you say? Sure everywhere but in Chesterfields. The blend does it and the blend can't be copied! Liccett & Myers Topacco Co. comicbooks.com