Judge, 1932-03-19 · page 2 of 36
Judge — March 19, 1932 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Red Lion Advertisement with Depression-Era Commentary This is primarily a **product advertisement** for Red Lion cooking flavors (gin, rye, Scotch imitation extracts), priced at 50¢. However, it includes social commentary disguised as marketing copy. The "SO WHAT?" section addresses the Great Depression directly. Red Lion claims their expensive ingredients justify the high cost, but they're "cutting down the cost of hospitality in thousands of homes" during "This Depression." The pitch frames buying cheap imitation flavoring as patriotic sacrifice—helping people maintain social entertaining despite economic hardship. The photograph of expensive dahlias in a window reinforces this: beauty and elegance remain accessible through affordable substitutes. The ad targets Depression-era consumers who want to appear prosperous while actually economizing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Red Lion Ingredients Are So Expensive We Lose Money on Every Bottle. ED LION Flavors are often called for short, “the most expensive non-alcoholic gin, rye and Scotch cooking flavors to make in the world.” We use no corks except those grown on the estates of the ex-hereditary Dukes of Granada. The bottles are made only from sand taken from the most exclusive Continental beaches. As we say, we lose money on every bottle, but we make it up in—well, you know how. SO WHAT? Why the altruism? Because we believe that What This Depression Needs Is a Good 50c Flavor. And Red Lion, we are proud to say, is cutting down the cost of hospitality in thousands of homes. ‘The result of our strivings is that Red Lion really does give better results—and the cost to you is less than most. But the coup de grace is that the bottle is graduated for convenience in mixing. If your grocer or druggist hasn't Red Lion, write a letter of protest to your favorite newspaper. Or write us. W. A. TAYLOR & COMPANY, INC. 12 Vestry Street New York City RED LION iartaTIoN Gin, Rye, Scotch, etc., Cooking Flavors comicbooks.com