Life — May 18, 1911 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is primarily a **Packard Motor Car Company advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It appears in *Life* magazine's 1912 advertising section. The ad promotes the Packard automobile chassis, available in three sizes with twelve body style options (open and enclosed). The featured image shows the "1912 Packard '30' Phaeton"—a luxury touring car with an open-air configuration and multiple passenger seats. The satirical headline—"Ask the man who owns one"—was Packard's famous advertising slogan, implying that satisfied owners would enthusiastically endorse the vehicle. The bucolic landscape illustration (countryside setting with trees and pastoral scenery) positions the automobile as enabling leisurely, countryside travel for affluent buyers. This represents early automotive marketing targeting wealthy consumers.