Life, 1912-07-25 · page 2 of 41
Life — July 25, 1912 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Wrigley's Spearmint Gum advertisement**, not political satire. The page uses a romantic "courting" scenario to market the product. The illustration shows a young man presenting a box of Wrigley's Spearmint gum to a woman, framed within a heart shape—a visual pun on courtship and romance. The accompanying text positions gum-giving as a romantic gesture: it will "make her bright smile brighter" and provides "continuous enjoyment...a continuous aid to teeth—breath—appetite—digestion." The advertisement emphasizes the value proposition: buying by the box of twenty packages costs less per package than individual purchases. The repeated phrases "Look for the spear!" and "The flavor lasts!" reinforce brand recognition. This reflects early 20th-century advertising strategies using emotional appeals and gendered romance tropes to market consumer products.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ts The Courting Confection’ Give If By; The Box f Make her bright smile . “The goody that's good brighter. Give her this for her” costs little by continuous enjoyment the package, but less that’s a continuous aid by the box of twenty to teeth—breath—appe- packages. Ask your tite—digestion. dealer. Look for the spear! The flavor lasts! comicbooks*¢om