Life — October 27, 1910 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine: Auto Race Advertising Contest (1910-1911) This page announces LIFE's "Great Auto Race"—a competition where automobile manufacturers competed for advertising space based on which company could generate the most public interest and newspaper coverage. The large photograph shows crowds gathered outside LIFE's office, demonstrating the contest's popularity. The right column lists participating car manufacturers (Locomotile, Packard, Pierce Arrow, etc.) ranked by advertising lines earned through October 1910 to April 1911. LIFE explicitly states this was simultaneously a genuine business promotion and a humorous stunt—the magazine admits running the contest partly "to have fun" while generating advertising revenue. The gold cup prize and crowd enthusiasm reflect early 1900s American enthusiasm for automobiles as novel consumer products worthy of public spectacle.