Life, 1915-01-14 · page 35 of 44
Life — January 14, 1915 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **car advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It appears in *Life* magazine (page 79) promoting Studebaker automobiles. The ad uses a rhetorical strategy common to early 20th-century marketing: it asks readers to "forget" the brand name itself and instead focus on the company's massive capital investment ($45 million in manufacturing plants). The argument is that this financial commitment guarantees quality—the company *must* build excellent cars to protect its investment. The image shows a Studebaker Light Six automobile with passengers, positioned near industrial plants with smoke, emphasizing manufacturing scale and modernity. The ad lists various Studebaker models (Roadster, Four, Light Six, Six) with prices ranging from $385 to $1825 (F.O.B. Detroit). It promotes features like electric lighting, floating rear axles, and Timken bearings—technical selling points for an automotive audience of the era. There is no satire or political commentary visible; this is straightforward product marketing leveraging industrial prestige.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
rom book: om Lirt's addressed ) of ume Guarantee that oes, > = with every Stu ebaker-car— Forget for a minute that name Studebaker! Forget the pride that any manufacturer must have in such a name that for 63 years has stood for the highest achieve- CAN give you full money's worth for every dollar of the price, because the Studebaker plants have been made the most complete on the face of the earth; ments in vehicles of every nature, Forget the efforts that any manufacturer would make to keep that hard-won name at the very forefront. And think only of the Forty Five Millions of Dollars in- vested in the gigantic plants where Studebaker Cars are built. And then you will see why Studebaker MUST make a good car. Call it selfishness, if you like. Call it business judgment. Call it what you will—but the fact remains that Forty Five Millions of Dollars invested in any business must be protected no matter what the cost. And this Forty Five Millions of Dollars invested in Stude- baker plants is your guarantee not only that Studebaker —but also, that Studebaker MUST make the BEST car that can be built for the price to protect that vast investment. And it is for this that Studebaker seeks the highest authorities on automobile designing. It is for this that Studebaker manufactures Studebaker Cars COMPLETE in Studebaker plants—to make sure that each of the hundreds of parts that go to make a car are made of the materials and in the way that Studebaker wants them made, It is for this that Studebaker guarantees a Service of the highest type. And it is for this that Studebaker in the years gone by has picked and chosen only the best, the most dependable dealers who could insure the giving of such service. It is, in brief —Cecaswe cls a And “—because it’s a Stude- baker,” backed by that $45,000,000 guarantee and all the wealth of experi- ence and resources and ideas of manufacture, you can not in justice to yourself fail to see the Stude- baker car. Go to your local Studebaker dealer. See the Cars —both the FOUR and the SIX—and judge them for yourself. And if you are interested in knowing how good a car can be made when the manufacturer wants to, write for “The Story of Studebaker.” STUDEBAKER—DETROIT Canadian Factories, Walkerville, Ontario Studebaker Features Electric Lighting and Starting — Full Floating Rear Axle—Timken Bearings Safety Tread Rear Tires—One-man Type Top. wer tse Stedebaker ROADSTER, . $ Ho Stodebaker FOUR, . Sedehaker LUGHT SIX, < ss Stodebaker SIX, 7-passenger, 1450 1825 All Prices F.0.B. Detroit Pp