Life, 1911-01-26 · page 38 of 44
Life — January 26, 1911 — page 38: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes an ongoing competition in *Life* magazine tracking which automobile brand receives the most advertising lines. The "race" humorously treats advertising as a competitive sport, with a leaderboard showing Locomobile leading with 3,360 lines. The cartoon depicts a reckless driver fleeing from constables, captioned with dialect humor about buckshot and evading arrest—a visual metaphor for the frantic competition itself. The satire mocks wealthy industrialists' obsession with the contest: King George approves, Rockefeller can't sleep, J.P. Morgan feels moved to comment, and Mrs. Belmont regrets the lack of "lady chauffeurs." The joke is that advertisers compete so intensely for magazine space that *Life* ironically announces a "Booby Prize" (consolation prize) for whoever advertises *least*—turning corporate vanity into absurdist comedy while simultaneously promoting the magazine's advertising appeal.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HOW THEY STAND TO DATE: Locomobile.... unite -++ 3,360 lines Rambler.... ‘ «++ 2,940 lines Baker Electric. . -+ 2,520 lines Columbia..... Er sNeys «+ 1,680 lines Franklin. seeeeeees. 1,680 lines Oldsmobile..................... 1,680 lines White....... a . +++ 1,680 lines Hupmobile.. seeesses 1,260 lines Hupp- Yeats. cesses 1,260 lines McFarlan.......... . vee ee 1,260 lines Maxwell-Briscoe +. +++ 1,260 lines 1,260 lines LOOK AT THOSE FLIES FOLLERIN US. THEY SURE CAN GO SOME" S| Sere ceceemaese: . 1,260 lines St ITS THAT CHARGE OF BUCKSHOT THAT YAP CONSTABLE FIRED AT US, AN’ WE GOTTA HUSTLE F OR ITLL GET US! ++.» 1,064 lines oe ‘ 1,054 lines . ‘ . 868 lines Stevens-Duryea . % 868 lines Abbott-Detroit. ss.. 840 lines Chalmers .... : 840 lines Cunningham... +. 840 lines ~ Hudson Motor. es Ga 840 lines TRY FOR THE BOOBY Stoddard-Dayton. voce ee 840 Hines Thomas. : svete 840 lines Premier. 2 - s+. 672 lines Intense excitement continucs to prevail in all gasoline and diplomatic circles Rauch & Lang... . coe se 672 lines as LIFE'S race goes on. Waverley.......... SiG > 672 lines What will the Booby Prize be? That is now the question uppermost in all Kelly Motor. 658 lines mind Gt 'lines We expect to make it worthy of the car that wins it. 525 lines A committee, composed of leading men, will soon be announced. It will be a lk the duty of this committee to select an appropriate Booby Prize. * . . 448 lines One or two minor accidents have occurred, and some of the contestants have OM... -- +++ s+ se 448 Tines dropped out, owing to the fact that the chauffeurs lost their heads at the wrong . 420 lines moment, and couldn't control their cars. wove . . 420 lines But this happens in every race, and only gives it zest. 420 lines King George, when shown the latest bulletin, exclaimed: 420 lines “Splendid sport! I am glad to sce that you are going to give a Booby Prize. : i 420 lines Somehow or other it seems to me you distance all competitors when you try to have 420 lines the least number of advertising lines in LIFE in a given period. 6 ia Mr. Rockefeller admitted that he hadn't slept well since the contest began. aisle Mr. Pierpont Morgan sat buried in thought as the last bulletin was shown him, t * it Then he said feelingly: \ : besees ines ‘This, coming from Mr. Morgan, will undoubtedly have its effect. : 224 lines Mrs. Belmont was too nervous to be seen. “My only regret,” she sent out Brewster... 210 lines word, “is that there are no lady chauffeurs.” Club Car. Lee + 210 Lines Remember that there are two prizes, namely: The purely incidental, unimpor- tant first prize, consisting of a solid gold cup, and the great Consolation or Booby Total . . 48,332 lines Prize, which will be announced later. comicbooks.com