Life — November 5, 1914 — page 2: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is **not a satirical cartoon** but rather a **paid advertisement** for Colgate & Co. perfume, disguised as editorial content in Life magazine. The ad presents itself as reporting on a "perfume test" where 103 women compared imported French perfumes against Colgate's domestic product. The claim: over 2/3 chose Colgate's when brand labels were hidden, and 41 of 61 women who initially preferred foreign perfumes switched to Colgate when the origin was concealed. The illustrated woman and perfume bottles frame this as a pseudo-scientific "blind taste test" (or smell test). The ad invites readers to conduct their own test using provided samples. This represents **early 20th-century advertising strategy**: presenting commercial claims as objective consumer research to build credibility and encourage product trials.