Life, 1915-01-14 · page 3 of 44
Life — January 14, 1915 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire page**—it's a full-page advertisement for Goodyear Tires from the early 1910s (dates visible on tires: 1915, 1914, 1913, 1912). The image shows five tires of decreasing size arranged to represent Goodyear's growth over five years. The ad's rhetorical strategy appeals to male readers ("To Men Like You") by emphasizing durability, safety, and comparative testing—not humor or satire. Key claims advertised: Goodyear sold 1.48 million tires the previous year, 26.6% more than the year before. The "Fortified Tires" feature five exclusive improvements, including puncture resistance and an "On-Air cure" technology costing $1,500 daily. This is straightforward product marketing using testimonial-style language typical of early 20th-century advertising.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Note How Goodyear Grows As the Years Roll By 1,479,883 Tires Last Year In the fiscal year just ended we sold 1,479,883 Goodyear pneumatic auto- mobile tires. That's about one tire for every car in use, Tt was 26.6 per cent. more tires than we sold the year before. It was half as many tires as we had sold in our pre- vious 14 years combined. It was more per month than we sold per year back in 1909. Tt was more than was sold of any other tire that's built. To Men Like You We sold these tires to men like you— men who seek quality tires. To men who want safety, strength and endurance. To men who watch tires and compare them, Some had accidents with tires. Some misused and wrecked them. And some, no doubt, got faulty Goodyear tires. But there's the record after 15 years THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, AKRON, OHIO —after millions of tests and comparisons. The final verdict, as shown by sales, is that Goodyear tires are best. Fortified Tires Five Exclusive Ways Goodyear Fortified tires protect you in five exclusive ways. One combats rim-cutting in the most efficient way that’s known. One means safety. These tires are held on by an unstretchable tire base, in which we vulcanize six flat bands of 126 braided wires. One saves needless blow-outs. Our “On-Air” cure—which costs $1,500 daily—prevents the countless blow-outs due to wrinkled fabric. (jooD SS YEAR AKRON. OHIO No-Rim-Cut Tires With All-Weather Treads or Smooth One—a patent method—reduces by 60 per cent. the risk of tread separa- tion. And one combats punctures and skid- ding. That's our All-Weather tread— tough and double-thick, flat and smooth- running, sharp-edged and resistless. All these features are in Goodyear Fortified tires. Not one of them is found in any other. Let Them Prove This isn’t written to sell tires, for tires must sell themselves. We simply urge you to test the tires which won this matchless showing. They outsell any other. They are gaining new users fast. They are forti- fied in exclusive ways against five major tire troubles, You cannot, we argue, be fair to your- self without proving out these tires. And now, with the new year, is a good time to do it. Any dealer will supply you if you say you want Goodyear tires. (2040)