Life, 1917-02-08 · page 5 of 42
Life — February 8, 1917 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Johnnie Walker whisky advertisement**, not political satire. The illustration shows four well-dressed men in formal evening wear (top hats, tuxedos) socializing together—depicting the aspirational "in the know" crowd of the era. The advertisement's humor relies on two contrasting statements: one claims "Laugh and the world laughs with you," while the other suggests drinking Johnnie Walker Red Label prevents social isolation ("you will drink alone"). The ad emphasizes the whisky's longevity ("over 10 years old before released") and quality consistency. The phrase "Born 1820—still going strong" personifies the brand as enduring and established. The page is dated to Life magazine's satirical period but contains **commercial rather than political content**.
📄 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 One Who Knows: ***LaucH AND THE WORLD LAUGHS WITH you.’” One Who Knows Better: But iF you pDoy’T Drink ‘Jounnig Wacker’ Rep Laser, you with DRINK ALONE.” When friends who are ‘in the know” gather together, there will you find ‘Johnnie Walker" in a non-refillable bottle. Exery 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. SOHN WALRER & SONS, Lro. Warsxy Disrnizrs, KILMARNOCK. Scortarp. comicbooks.com