Life, 1915-12-09 · page 48 of 48
Life — December 9, 1915 — page 48: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **tobacco advertisement**, not political satire. It depicts vigorous young men skiing and rolling their own cigarettes with Bull Durham tobacco, a popular rolling-tobacco brand of the era. The ad's appeal is to **masculine vitality and youth**: the "breezy young chap" exemplifies energy, good nature, and self-reliance ("rolling his own"). The copy emphasizes the product's association with "hustle and vigor"—qualities the advertiser links to manly character. The ski scene and casual poses suggest outdoor recreation and rugged independence, cultural markers of desirable masculinity in 1915. The American Tobacco Company uses this imagery to market smoking not merely as a habit, but as an expression of youthful vigor and American strength. By modern standards, the advertisement is notable for its **open promotion of cigarettes without health warnings** and its explicit targeting of youth through idealized masculine imagery.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
December 9, 1915 L The Smoke of the Vigorous There's something mighty refreshing in the sight of a breezy oung chap with good- nature written all over him jauntily ‘ ‘rolling his own” with “Bull” Dutham. He likes “Bull” because it has a snap and sparkle in keeping with his own youthful spirits. He has learned that a cigarette so full af vitality and vim and equally fresh and feomnt cannot be obtained in any other way. There's hustle and vigor in every ounce of ‘‘Bull”. GENUINE ‘BULL DURHAM SMOKING TOBACCO When you roll “ Bull” Durham into a cigarette you have the unique smoke of the world. Made of the choicest “bright” Virginia-North Carolina leaf, it is x the last word in tobacco quality. “ Its mild, mellow flavor and rich aroma are found in no other tobacco. It gives supreme satisfaction and wholesome, lasting enjoyment as no other tobacco can. That is why “Bull” is the favorite smoke of millions the world over, and has been for three generations. THE AMERICAN TOBACCO COMPANY comicbooks.com