Life, 1917-01-25 · page 5 of 40
Life — January 25, 1917 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **advertising disguised as editorial content**—a common early 20th-century practice. The cartoon depicts an elderly man (born 1820, "still going strong") surrounded by figures representing gossip and rumor, illustrating the proverb about not believing everything you hear. The actual message is a whiskey advertisement for Johnnie Walker Red Label. The "wise ones" dialogue contrasts unreliable hearsay with the trustworthiness of this specific brand, which the ad claims maintains consistent quality through sealed bottles aged over 10 years before release. The satire is subtle: using folk wisdom about discernment to sell liquor—suggesting consumers should trust *this* product while distrusting other information. It's clever marketing leveraging skepticism itself.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
" Born 1820 —still going strong. Wise One: * Tue oLp provers SAYS:—‘ BELIEVE NOT ALL YOU HEAR, AND TELL NOT ALL YOU BELIEVE.’” Wiser One: * But You CAN BELIEVE ALL YOU HEAR ABOUT ‘ JoHNNIE Wacker’ Rep Laset, AND TELL ALL YOU BELIEVE.” $ —Because its superior quality is safeguarded by the famous “ Johnnie Walker” non-refillable 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, Lro, Warsey Distitams, KILMARNOCK, Scorzamp. comicbooks.com