Life, 1916-08-03 · page 29 of 38
Life — August 3, 1916 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The opening cartoon satirizes deceptive advertising. A merchant claims goods are "guaranteed," but when challenged, reveals the guarantee means nothing: "36 inches to the yard"—a dishonest measure. This mocks merchants who use vague guarantees as sales tactics without meaningful substance. The advertisement that follows is for Kelly-Springfield Automobile Tires. Ironically, it uses the same subject to advertise *against* guarantees. The company argues that tire guarantees are meaningless marketing—manufacturers set low mileage guarantees (3,500 miles) they're confident tires will exceed. Kelly-Springfield's guarantee (5,000-7,500 miles) is likewise irrelevant since their hand-made tires typically last 8,000-10,000+ miles. The ad positions Kelly-Springfield as honest: customers buy actual durability ("built-in worth"), not false promises. This was apparently a real tire company competing on quality rather than marketing claims—a pitch that would resonate with readers just shown a satire on guarantee-based deception.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A famous merchant always closed a sale with the statement, “Now remember, all these goods are guaranteed.” That statement went unchallenged for many years, but once a customer “called him” by asking, “Just what do you mean by guaranteed?” “Hush,” answered the mer- chant, “I mean 36 inches to the yard.” Kelky -Springfield Automobile Tires - Hand Made UARANTEE makers are cau- tious people. They generally play safe. When a tire is guar- anteed for 3,500 miles the manufacturer is not anticipating a loss. Frankly, we do not think much of the guarantee incentive to a tire purchase. In response to what seems to be custom or popular demand, Kelly-Springfield Tires are guaranteed too, for 5,000, 6,000 and 7,500 miles, according to type. We take no risk, and it means nothing to you, because the tires often run 8,000, 10,000 and frequently many more miles. Our regular patrons have long since forgotten our so-called guarantee. Experience has taught them greater expectations, based on past realizations. They are buying built-in worth, built in by hand—hand-made tires. Before using Kelly-Springfield Tires they had tried out other tires, because Kellys are rarely found on new cars. Car manufacturers are accustomed ‘to great concessions in price, on account of quantity orders. Kelly prices are not cut, and the demands on us are so great that we cannot supply quantity orders. We would not neglect our customers to do so even if we could make the price to suit. Kelly-Springfield ‘Tires get on a car after some other tires have worn out. Then they stay on. That is why the capacity of our fac- tories has been passed, why we often have to delay deliveries— why weare buildinganewfactory. Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. Factories in Akron and Wooster, Ohio Executive Offices: Broadway and 57th Street, New York Send 10 cents for the new game, “Going to Market" comicbooks.com