Life, 1910-11-03 · page 66 of 72
Life — November 3, 1910 — page 66: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes a real promotional contest Life magazine ran: awarding a gold cup to the automobile company with the most advertising lines in the publication between October 1910 and April 1911. The humor lies in the mock-serious responses from famous public figures. President Taft compares it favorably to golf and tariffs. Anthony Comstock (a famous moral crusader) approves it as "proper." Colonel Roosevelt calls it a great idea. Alfred Vanderbilt offers his racing track. Each response treats a *commercial advertising competition* with absurd gravitas, as if it were a major national or international event. The cartoon (bottom left) depicts a reckless driver in an early automobile, visually reinforcing the race theme. The final section parodies international reactions—King George expresses amazement, Emperor William wants updates—exaggerating how seriously the world supposedly views this mere advertising stunt. The satire targets American commercial boosterism and the willingness of prominent figures to endorse whatever generates publicity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life’s Great Auto Race How it has been received by the civilized world. How the Contestants Stand to Date: The offer of a solid gold cup by LIFE to the automobile advertiser having the greatest number of advertising lines in 7 . this paper, between October 1, 1910, and April 1, 1911, has GeO DDE Seance nt preserensen ren Tn60 Hes been received with unparalleled enthusiasm throughout the Overland : ‘ é 840 lines country. a . veces ssss+ 840 lines Pierce Arrow vietenerees 840 lines President Taft, when seen, said: Rambler... ae a aia Gees + 840 lines wo + + . : Stearns . ceseeee 840 lines Hooray! Golf is only a circums ance to this race—more in- Thomas Flyer....... SLLLLLLI 2 84o lines teresting than a tariff schedule.’ Peerless; Se eRe ROS 634 lines Jaynes... 20... vocee ees 448 lines % soul erate fhivasall: Rauch @ Laaw Bleces . : : ‘. Uptines Anthony Comstock = ac reat in himse' Baker Electric... .. voce estesseeeeee sees 420 lines “Now, this is something like!" he exc'taimed. ‘So far as I Chalmers. . . veces 20 lines can learn, it is eminently proper. Keep up the good work.” Cunningham nner vices 420 lines os : 420 lines Colonel Roosevelt, interviewed at Oyster Bay. could not too lines say enough in praise of LIFE: 420 lines “Great wo ie exclaimed. ‘‘I haven't seen th: cup yet, 420 lines but understand it is a beauty. Of course I should hardly say 224 lines that this is a philanthropic enterprise, but, then, we are all ad- 224 lines vertisers, more or less, and I must say you have originated a 224 lines great idea.” Ls a . ri wea 224 lines Stevens-Duryca nae anne re 224 lines 7, Slee Waverley Electric... SESE) gag tines Alfred Vanderbilt: Brewster....... r ‘ sesees 210 lines “Splendid! If you want my track, you can have it.”” Club Car... eseieis 7 -- 210 lines Kelly Motor Truck... ‘2 210 lines LymancAbbort: 14,004 lines “T am something of an advertiser myself, but I must take off my hat to LIFE. What a pity, however, that you limited the race to automobiles which have the greatest number of ad. lines. I wish you had letin others. I should like to compete for that gold cup myself.” Abroad, automobile circles are just beginning to feel the effects of LIFE’S great offer. King George, on hearing the news, said: “No country but America could begin to display the enter- prise evidenced by this grand offer. While I do not care par- ticularly for Americans, I must say that this offer of LIFE fills me with amazement. The cup is a beauty Emperor William of Germany was mote reticent on ac- count of recent criticisms of his freedom of utterance. He said: “I cannot speak my full mind. Nevertheless, I must say that this contest of LIFE appeals to me strongly. Please cable me the winner's name on completion of race." The effect on Europe, while marked, is generally moderate. This, in part, may be attributed to jealousy. comicbooks.com