Judge, 1932-06-11 · page 2 of 36
Judge — June 11, 1932 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Red Lion Advertisement, Judge Magazine This page is primarily a **liquor advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Red Lion brand spirits (gin, rye, scotch, cooking flavors) through humor rather than commentary. The "joke" involves **balance**—literally and economically. The ad shows a man in formal dress in two states: "Terrible Balance" (left, unsteady) versus "Perfect Balance" (right, composed). This visual pun illustrates the product's claim about "balanced flavor." The accompanying text makes an economic argument: quality balanced flavoring costs only 5¢ per bottle to produce, yet Red Lion can charge significantly more. The ad sardonically suggests customers could "juggle his ketchup bottles" to trick grocers into ordering it—a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgment of the product's markup. This reflects **Prohibition-era marketing** (note "imitation" and "cooking" flavors as legal cover), using absurdist humor to sell spirits.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SCIENCE PROVES THAT A BSalanad ane Wiux people call Red Lion Flavors ‘the best bal- anced gin, rye,scotch,etc., cooking flavors in the world™* we just smile blandly. For only we know the enor- mous trouble and expense involved in achieving this balance. Come with us on a quick tour of the Balanc- ing Division ofour factory: The first room on the right of the long corridor is the Tightrope Room. Here the Red Lion bottles are taught the rudiments of balance by means of tight-wire and slack-wire walking. And many are the scratched heads and broken necks before the little rascals master this difficult art, you may be sure! Next, in the Juggling Room, the bottles gradually work up from ¢le- mentary three-tennis-ball work to a really complicated routine of six ver- mouth bottles, a black cat and a bow! of goldfish. . . Inthe Early Morning Balance Room the bottles spend a week walking a metal chalk line which leaps from side to side. FREE: SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE WRITTEN SERIES INTO A BOOKLET. TERRIBLE BALANCE yucsonet i pal st silirhaae | suddenly cut to $9,000, Many fail thiscourse andarerejected. Why go to all this trouble, you say? Simply what then?’ because we are determined to make the best balanced, the smoothest, the most authentic flavoring on the market. The remarkable thing is that a bortle suf- ficient to flavor a gallon costsonly $0c. Buy abortle cf Red Lion and start cut- ting the high cost of hos- pitality. If your grocer or druggist hasn't it, juggle his ketchup bottles until he orders it for you. Or write W. A. Taylor & Co., Inc., 12 Vestry Street, New York City (Importers of Martiné & Rossi Vermouth and Cusenter Grenadine and Cordials) RED LION IMITATION GIN, RYE, SCOTCH, ETC., Cooking FLAVORS PERFECT BALANCE Here on the left is the Moral Balance Room, but we have no time to do more than peck in at the door for a glimpse of Greta Deitrich. Finally comes the Economic Bal- ance Room, the most difficult of all. This is seminar work for the most part and the bottles discuss such questions as, “If a man’s expenses are $16,000 a year and his income is US ABOUT THESE BURLESQUE ADVERTISEMENTS THAT WE HAVE PUT THE WHOLE WELL GLADLY SEND IT TO YOU; ALL WE ASK IS THAT YOU SEND US YOUR GROCERS NAME comicbooks.com