Life, 1911-03-30 · page 40 of 45
Life — March 30, 1911 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page announces the conclusion of LIFE's satirical "Great Auto Race"—a 1910 advertising competition where automobile companies competed for lines of ad space in the magazine. The top committee selecting winners includes real figures: King Alfonso (Spanish monarch), Joseph Cannon (U.S. House Speaker), opera singer Enrico Caruso, Dr. Charles Parkhurst (prominent clergyman), and King George (likely George V of Britain). The satire targets automobile advertisers' desperation: companies that advertised *most* win a gold cup; those advertising *least* receive the "Booby Prize"—a bronze Diana statue. The joke mocks both the absurd competition and advertisers' willingness to buy space in LIFE regardless of actual value. The page celebrates how this stunt captured global attention, suggesting the contest itself was LIFE's clever strategy to boost its own advertising revenue while satirizing the automobile industry's competitive excess.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
gb Li og ALFONSO. JOSEPH CANNON. Next Week You Will Know All Here's to the glorious winner Of LIFE'S Great Auto Race, And here's to the reckless sinner Who dares to take last place. Lire’s Great Auto Race is now draw- ing to a close. With tense lips, hearts surging with emotion and every nerve strained to its utmost, the contestants are thundering to the tape. The great race started on October 1, 1910. From the instant that the start- ing gun was fired, the whole civilized world was agog with excitement. Mes- sages from all the crowned heads of Europe poured in. Automobile circles in every State in the Union were stirred to their respective depths. ENRICO CARUSO, DR. CHAS. PARKHURST. KING GEORGE, The idea of giving a handsome solid gold cup to the automobile advertiser having the greatest number of lines in Live in six months was received at first with profound astonishment and then with an ever circling area of applause. But when, in addition to this, it was announced that a Booby Prize would be presented to the automobile adver- tiser having the least number of lines in the same period, nothing could ex- ceed the universal enthusiasm. The reckless disregard of consequences shown by those brave autos who dared to advertise in Lire as little as possible, met with instant recognition from everyone. Later, when Lt famous commit- tee to select the prize—King Alfonso and his four confréres—was announced, the enthusiasm knew no bounds. But soon old animosities will be forgotten and, it is hoped, new friendships will be cemented. Next week’s Lire will give the place of every contestant at the finish, and the names of the winners of the gold cup and the bronze statue, together with reproductions of both prizes. Look for next week’s Lire, DIANA, Bronze Statue, 42 inches high, by the celebrated French artist, A. Gaudez, will be presented to the winner of the Booby Prize, in LIFE’S Auto Race. Winners to be announced next, week. “Th Mar grou for Boss It’s. and the It as M You find and ning befo HU comicbooks.com