Life, 1915-11-04 · page 7 of 56
Life — November 4, 1915 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising**, not political satire. It's a Johnnie Walker Red Label whisky advertisement disguised as an editorial cartoon. The illustration shows a social gathering where a host instructs a servant to ensure a bottle of Johnnie Walker has an "intact" non-refillable seal—implying that counterfeit or refilled bottles were a known consumer concern in this era. The dialogue plays on this anxiety: the host boasts about the whisky's guaranteed age (over 10 years old) and quality, while his friend responds that being "particular" about authenticity "is worth while." The advertisement emphasizes brand integrity and authenticity as selling points, suggesting that product counterfeiting was a real marketplace problem when this ad ran.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Born 1820 —Still going strong. lS, Yy y yy Y fy Y/ Host: ‘* JounNig WALKER,” PLEASE, AND MAKE SURE THIS TIME THAT THE NON-REFILLABLE FITMENT 1S INTACT. THE LAST TIME IT WAS CUT OFF.” Friend : You aR& VERY PARTICULAR.” Host: “ WHEN you HAVE TRIED ‘JOHNNIE WALKER’ FROM THE NON-REFILLABLE BOTTLE, YOU WILL REALISE THAT TO BE PARTICULAR 1S WORTH WHILE.” It is a satisfaction for you to know positively that ‘Johnnie Walker" Red Labo! always has been and always will be kept fully up to its guaranteed age. Every drop of Red Label is over 10 years old before released from bond. The ‘ non-refillable" does the rest. GUARANTEED SAME QUALITY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. Agents: WILLIAMS & HUMBERT, 1158 Broadway, NEW YORK. JOHN WALKER & SONS, Lro, Waisey Distiters, KILMARNOCK. Scottan. comicbooks.com