Life — March 16, 1916 — page 2: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a cigarette advertisement, not satire. It depicts two elegantly dressed figures—a woman in a black coat and hat, and a man in formal attire with a top hat—posed with decorative spotted horses in a circular vignette. The tagline reads "Ever where Why?" The ad emphasizes that Murad is "Made of 17 varieties of pure Turkish tobaccos" and claims to be the "Greatest selling high-grade cigarette in America," "Guaranteed by the whole nation's verdict." Priced at fifteen cents, it positions the product as sophisticated and cosmopolitan. The Turkish imagery and refined aesthetic appealed to early 20th-century consumers who associated Turkish cigarettes with luxury and worldliness.