Life — June 22, 1916 — page 48: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a cigarette advertisement for Fortnum & Mason cigarettes, published in Life magazine on June 22, 1916. The ad features a hand holding a red box of cigarettes and depicts a scene of well-dressed men dining in what appears to be an upscale London restaurant. The advertisement's appeal is snobbish and class-based: it claims that at prestigious establishments ("good places"), the product is so famous and recognizable that customers need only ask for "the best cigarette"—the red box will automatically appear without naming the brand. The tagline "A Shilling in London / A Quarter Here" references pricing differences between British and American markets. This reflects early 20th-century luxury marketing targeting affluent consumers who would frequent fine dining establishments.