Life, 1917-01-11 · page 5 of 38
Life — January 11, 1917 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising for Johnnie Walker Red Label whisky**, disguised as satirical editorial content. The cartoon depicts a well-dressed gentleman (representing "Johnnie Walker," the brand's mascot) demonstrating the bottle's durability to skeptical onlookers. The joke plays on the phrase "it blows the wind that profits nobody"—suggesting that while others might profit from inferior bottles, the non-refillable Johnnie Walker bottle itself is so reliable it needs no replacement. The ad emphasizes that every drop has aged over 10 years before release, and bottles maintain consistent quality globally. The "Born 1820—still going strong" caption references the brand's founding date. This represents early 20th-century advertising masquerading as magazine humor, blending product promotion with satirical cartoon style to appeal to *Life* magazine's educated readership.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Born 1820 x t 1826 oy —still going strong. v Johnnie Walker: ‘Itt BLOWS THE WIND, THAT PROFITS NoBoDY.’” Jovial Frisnd: “Yes! He Rewarps THE URCHIN, CATCHES A COLD, AND SO FINDS OUT THE EFFICIENCY OF ‘JoHNNIE Wacker’ Rep Lavet.” The non-refillable bottle is as “efficient” as “Johnnie Walker.” All you have to do, is to be sure you get the right bottle. Every drop of Red Label is over 10 years old before released from bond—the non-refillable bottle does the rest. GUARANTEED SAME QUALITY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. Agents: WILLIAMS & HUMBERT, 1158 Broadway, NEW YORK: JOHN WALKER & SONS, Lrp,, Warsuy Distitiers, KILMARNOCK, Scotian,