Life, 1915-05-20 · page 6 of 44
Life — May 20, 1915 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily an advertisement**, not satire or cartoon content. It's a Packard Motor Car Company ad from *Life* magazine (page 890). The ad features two car illustrations and argues that Packard's success stems from "public good will" rather than just marketing. The company claims it reinvests profits into engineering improvements, allowing them to offer quality vehicles at competitive prices. The headline "Ask The Man Who Owns One" (visible beneath the larger car illustration) was Packard's actual advertising slogan, positioning owner testimonials as proof of quality. There is **no political satire here**—this is straightforward early-20th-century automotive advertising emphasizing manufacturing innovation and customer satisfaction as competitive advantages. The decorative border and layout are typical of period magazine advertising design.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ag LW ged olag SUCCESS BUILT ON Recognition of the Packard as a measure of quality is an essential fact of automobile history. Public endorsement of the Packard, as shown by sales, has increased steadily year after year. As the art progressed, making it possible to build better, the Packard car has been improved. Growth and progress have fostered the mutual regard between the Packard and its patrons. There never has been an off day in the mechani- cal development of the Packard car from the old one-cylinder model that represented the highest state of the art then to the wonderful “3-38” and “5-48” models that represent the furthest ad- vance of the art now. There never has been an off day in the Va PUBLIC GOOD WILL development of the Packard plant from the small machine shop of 1899 to the highly-developed and amazingly efficient factory of the present day. Always by putting profits into engineering research, improved factory equipment and ad- vanced manufacturing practice, we have compelled the increased output to pay back into the hands of the public increased value in the goods delivered. Price is secondary. We build always the highest attainable quality and the price is fixed by the production cost. As our volume grows and our factory methods advance, we are able to give our patrons better cars at lesser price. The Packard caris the visible sign of a great institution founded on an ideal and perpetuated by good will. PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY, Detroit, Michigan Ask The Man } Who Owns One aa