Life, 1910-11-03 · page 43 of 72
Life — November 3, 1910 — page 43: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **shoe advertisement**, not satire. The cartoon depicts a Marathon runner being accosted at the finish line by an overzealous shoe salesman offering him new shoes—the joke being terrible timing and aggressive marketing. The ad's humor is self-aware: *Life* magazine acknowledges that promoting shoes to an exhausted athlete is ridiculous, then pivots to the actual pitch. The text argues that while "business enterprise is a good thing," this scenario shows it can be "misdirected." The advertisement then promotes **Goodyear Welt System** shoes, claiming they're made with superior machinery. By admitting the absurdity of hard-sell tactics, the copywriter positions Goodyear as the reasonable choice—customers should simply ask their shoe salesman if shoes are "really GOODYEAR WELT." This represents early 20th-century advertising that used self-deprecating humor and *Life*'s satirical voice to build brand credibility.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
There Is Nothing Funny About This ’ I ‘HE man who wins a Marathon isn’t even mildly amused by the zeal of the genius who in the moment of his triumph offers him a substitute for the shoes in which he has run the race. His success has been no joke. It has taken strength, persistence, train- ing, equipment, and so, in the glow of victory, crossing the line with cheers ringing in his ears, he is in no mood to bother about new shoes. Business enterprise is a good thing; but it is occasionally misdirected. We have no intention, therefore, of reminding the bright people who read LIFE that the best shoes to-day are all made by the Goodyear Welt System of Shoe Machinery. That is quite unnecessary, as by this time the fact is undoubtedly familiar to them. It isalways in order, however, to make sure that the shoes one buys are really GOODYEAR WELT. Ask the shoe salesman tf the shoes he offers are GOODYEAK WELT The United Shoe Machinery Company, Boston, Massachusetts, will send on request, without charge, the following booklets : 1. An alphabetical list of all Goodyear Welt Shoes sold under a special name or trade-mark 2. A Book which describes the Goodyear Welt process in detail, and pictures of the marvelous machines employed. 3. “The Secret of the Shoe: An Industry Transformed,’’ which tells the true story of a great American achievement. comicbooks.com