Life, 1912-11-28 · page 27 of 44
Life — November 28, 1912 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not satire or political commentary**—it's a straightforward Goodyear Tire Company advertisement from around 1912-1913. The "cartoon" is simply a drawing of a tire with an odometer dial, illustrating the ad's central claim: that Goodyear proved their tires' superiority through **measured, objective testing** rather than guesswork or marketing hype. The key argument: when car owners began using odometers to track actual mileage, Goodyear No-Rim-Cut tires dramatically outsold competitors (jumping from minimal market share to 250,000 users). The implication is that empirical data—what the odometer "tells"—reveals the best product wins. For modern readers, this reflects early 20th-century marketing's pivot toward **scientific claims and measurable proof**, contrasting with older "blind" purchasing based on brand loyalty or salesmanship alone. The ad appeals to a newly mechanized, measurement-conscious consumer.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Let the Figures When men bought tires by guesswork, hardly more than one per cent of all tires sold were Goodyears. One rival sold 30 times as many. Others 16 and 24 times as many, as shown by royalty figures. Then came the vogue of odometers. Motor car owners began to measure tire mileage. Under that custom, No-Rim-Cut tires jumped to the topmost place. For years and years we have used an odometer to guide us in building tires. We built in our factory a tire-testing machine, fitted with an odometer. On that machine four tires at a time are being worn out here under actual road conditions, Thus we have compared some 240 formulas and fabrics. We have com- ared countless materials and methods. And rival tires have been compared with our own, This odometer told us which methods were best. It told us when our tires outlasted all others, And it told the same story to the armies of motorists. on their metered-mileage cars. Told How to Save 48 Per Cent They now outsell all others. What the Odometer Told With old-type tires, statistics show that 23 per cent become rim-cut. With No-Rim-Cut tires, experience proves that rim-cutting never occurs. And odometers proved our 10 per cent oversize, under average con- ditions, adds 25 per cent to the tire mileage. So this patent tire, if built no better than others, means an average saving of 48 per cent. Tens of thousands of men have proved this. Now 250,000 Users Now Goodyear tires are used, we fig- ure, on not less than 250,000 cars. During the season of 1912, over 100,000 new cars went from the factories equip- ped with them. Our this year's sales will exceed $25,000,000. i for these tires is And the dem The Premier Salesman for the Goodyear Tire It is putting these tires, on an average, (j00D“YEAR No-Rim-Cut Tires With or Without Non-Skid Treads The Odometer— on 100,000 wheels monthly Tell Which Tire In the past three years—with the general use of odometers—No-Rim-Cut sales have doubled six times over—multiplied twelve times. And the demand is increasing nowadays faster than we can build factories. That’s the result of actual measured mileage. Men who once bought blindly now make their comparisons. And the best tire wins. For your own good, settle the question, as we settle it here, by the res on the dial. now increasing faster than ever before. Try them, then ‘our odometer. It's an unbiased adviser, and it never ti Goodyear Winter Treads lack of this feature which made non-skid tires short-lived. No-Rim-Cut tires are made. when wanted, with this ideal Non-Skid tread. It's an extra tread, made of very tough rubber, vulcanized on to the reg- ular. Thus a double-thick tread with wonderful wear resistance. One glance at these treads will show you that our experts have solved the non-skid question as well as they have the rim-cutting. Safety in winter requires an effi t non-skid—actual, enduring protection. Please judge for yourself if we have it. The extra tread consists of deep-cut blocks, which present to the road_sur- face countless edges and angles. They grasp with a bulldog grip. ch block widens out at the base, so rain is distributed over the fabric ame as with smooth-tread tires 's immensely important. It was The Goodyear Tire Book—based on 13 years of tire making—is filled with facts you should know. Ask us to mail it to you. t T Our experts worked for three solid years in perfecting this Goodyear Non-Skid. For this tread involves a dozen serious ques- tions. The tread must be immensely tough and enduring. It must retain its efficiency over thousands of miles. It must present a broad surface, and yet grasp slippery roads with a resistless grip. It must distribute the strain, else shocks must be borne by only a part of the fabric. Tens of thousands of tests have proved that this tread meets all these require- ments. The demand for this year has become overwhelming. Branches and Agencies in 103 Principal Cities More Service Stations Than Any Other Tire THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, AKRON, OHIO We Make All Kinds of Rubber Tires, Tire Accessories and Repair Outfits Main Canadian Office, Toronto, Ont.—Canadian Factory, Bowmanville, Ont. comicbooks.com