Life, 1914-08-27 · page 35 of 44
Life — August 27, 1914 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is a **Goodyear tire company advertisement**, not satirical content. It appears in *Life* magazine (likely 1920s-1930s based on styling) as paid advertising. The ad makes a straightforward business argument: Goodyear charges premium prices because it invests millions in exclusive tire features—the "All-Weather Tread," air-curing process, reinforced wire bands, and R&D. The copy defends these higher costs by arguing that competing brands charging even *more* lack these safety features, making Goodyear's premium justified by value-per-mile. The large tire image at top showcases the tread pattern. The text uses repeated cost figures ($450,000, $100,000, $50,000) to build credibility through specificity. There is **no cartoon, caricature, or satirical point**—this is straightforward product marketing emphasizing technical superiority and reasonable pricing relative to competitors.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
This Costs $450,000 The “On-Air” cure—used by us alone —adds to our tire cost $450,000 yearly. Each tire is final-cured on air-filled tubes, under actual road conditions. This to save the countless blow-outs due to wrinkled fabric. Each tire has six flat bands of 126 braided piano wires vulcanized into its base. That's our exclusive—our faultless —way to make a tire that can’t rim-cut. In each tire we form, during vulcani- zation, hundreds of large rubber rivets to combat tread separation. We paid $50,000 to control this patent. AndtheAll-Weathertread,described above, is an exclusive Goodyear feature. This Costs $100,000 Our tests and experiments—seeking ways to better tires—cost us $100,000 yearly. Scores of experts are constantly working to add to Goodyear mileage. THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, AKRON, OHIO Toronto, Canada Dealers Everywhere (1808) (LIFE™ Branches and Agencies in 103 Principal Cities Note This All-Weather Tread Note how flat and smooth and regular. It runs like a plain tread. Note what deep projections—they last thou- sands of miles. Note the sharp edges and angles. They bite into slip- pery roads in every direction, giving resistless grip. The tread is double-thick—long-enduring—difficult to puncture. It is toughened by a secret Goodyear process. The blocks meet at the base, so strains are not cen- tered. They are spread over the fabric, just as with smooth treads. On every wheel, in every season, safety and trouble- saving call for this All-Weather tread. We Spend Millions On 4 Features Exclusive to No-Rim-Cut Tires They build thousands of tires in thou- sands of ‘ways for comparison. You don’t think—no man can think— that other men have found some way to build a better tire than we. Not while Goodyears, on sheer merit, outsell any other tire. Why Extra Prices? Then why pay extra prices? At least 16 makes now sell above the Goodyear prices. Some are one-third higher. All lack the four great Goodyear feat- ures. They can’t give better quality. Do you know one reason for that extra price? Goon Svar No-Rim-Cut Tires With All-Weather Treads or Smooth London, England It Might Buy This That extra third, if paid for Good- ears, would buy a half-inch wider tire. It would buy a 4-inch tire, for instance, where you use 31-inch. And the 4-inch would fit your rim. That extra half-inch adds 14 per cent. to the tire size. It brings an extra ply of fabric anda thicker tread. It should add, on the average, 35 per cent. to the tire service. Or the price of three extra-price tires would buy you four of Goodyears. In either way you could spend that extra to buy med extra service. The point is this: Tire worth is measured by low cost per mile, and one big factor is the price per tire. Goodyear prices—due to mammoth output—start you on the bottom basis. And each exclusive Goodyear feature helps to lower mile-cost. If you believe that, tell your dealer you must have Goodyear tires. Mexico City, Mexico Write Us on Anything You Want in Rubber