Life — April 20, 1916 — page 51: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a cigarette advertisement for Murad Turkish cigarettes, priced at 15 cents. The ad uses the phrase "Munitions of Peace" with imagery of an airplane dropping cigarette packages like bombs, and multiple hands reaching upward to catch them. The satire plays on World War I messaging—using militaristic language ("munitions") to promote a consumer product. The "Everywhere—Why?" tagline suggests Murad cigarettes are ubiquitous. The small text credits "Muragyes" as "Makers of the finest [something] Turkish and Egyptian Cigarettes to the World." This represents early 20th-century advertising that conflated consumer goods with patriotic or militaristic themes, a common practice during and after WWI. The image equates cigarette distribution with beneficial aerial bombardment—dark humor by modern standards.