Life, 1917-05-10 · page 31 of 46
Life — May 10, 1917 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a political cartoon** but rather a **vintage advertisement** for Republic Tires, published in *Life* magazine (page 867). The page promotes Republic Tires' rapid market growth, claiming 400-500 daily converts. The ad emphasizes the "Prodium Process" of rubber compounding as the reason for superiority—tires wear "evenly and slowly, like a piece of steel." The key marketing strategy described is **word-of-mouth advertising**: satisfied customers convincing others of the product's durability, which the company claims is more persuasive than paid promotion. The large tire illustration on the right displays the product's "Black-Line Red Inner Tubes." The company, based in Youngstown, Ohio, claims such demand that supply cannot meet it for the coming year. **For modern readers**: This exemplifies early 20th-century advertising emphasizing technical innovation and consumer testimonials as selling points—a formula still used today, though the language and claims feel quaint by contemporary standards.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE RALLYING TO THE REPUBLIC ROM four to five hundred people are changing HK to Republic Tires every day. Our records show a spontaneous and very large increase of new Republic customers everywhere. To one unfamiliar with the facts, this trend toward Republic Tires might seem sudden and surprising. The truth is that it is merely a climax and a culmina- tion of years of steady growth. : I: is especially due to what people have learned in the past year about the Prodium Process of compounding rubber. The American people are seldom stampeded—in tire- buying especially—by the mere promise of an im- proved process. But when they have seen it proven—as it has been proven that the Prodium Process makes Republic Tires tougher and stronger—they go over to the im- proved product almost in a body. That is exactly what is happening in the case of Republic Tires. The word has gone from user to user during a period of twelve months, that Republic Tires do last longer. This word-of-mouth advertising has been very much more effective than anything we might have said. When one user tells another that Republic Tires wear down evenly and slowly, like a piece of steel, the hearer is convinced. The volume of those convinced runs now into hun- dreds of thousands. With the last doubt removed, there has grown up almost over night, a transfer of patronage to Republic that now approaches the proportions of a stampede. We are trebling the size and capacity of the Republic plants. But for a year to come, all the Republic Tires we can supply the dealer will be snapped up as soon as they are received. . Republic Black-Line Red Inner Tubes have @ reputation for freedom from trouble The Republic Rubber Company, Youngstown, Ohio Originator of the First Effective Rubber Non-Skid Tire REPUBLIC IIRES comichooks.feyu)