Life, 1917-09-06 · page 33 of 40
Life — September 6, 1917 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a full-page advertisement, not satire or political commentary. It promotes Marathon brand tires to experienced car owners. The illustration shows a man in formal attire triumphantly holding up a tire, celebrating the product. The ad addresses common early-automobile frustrations: tire failures on hot days, expensive repairs, messy patches and patches-on-patches, mileage adjustment claims, and weak spots that develop unpredictably. Marathon's pitch: their tires are hand-made from "the very finest rubber and fabric" with uniform construction throughout—compared metaphorically to a "well-knit athlete" with no weak spots. Rather than gimmicky fixes or added thickness, quality materials and craftsmanship ensure durability. The company (based in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, with a Canadian factory) promises customer satisfaction and invites inquiries. This reflects early 1900s advertising targeting affluent car owners frustrated by the mechanical unreliability of automobiles.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SE You car owners who have driven for years will welcome Marathon Hand-Made Tires annoyance of making claims for mileage adjustments: you know the cost in tube repair: you know the damage to clothing and temper and time and you'll be glad to pay a little more than you are accustomed to pay for tires and get a tire that is built to go the full distance. \ YOU know the grief of tire changes on hot days: you know the A good many of you have tried various so-called remedies for tire troubles. You've put coverings on the outside of your casings and you've put linings inside; you've filled them with air and with things that weren’t air; you’ve pumped them up good and tight and you’ve run them soft, and you've gotten pretty much the same result in every case. The answer wasn’t found in substitutes of any kind and it wasn’t found in just piling on thicknesses; we found it in the simple thing of the very finest rubber and fabric put together by hand with the most exacting care. We built for uniformity and to avoid the weak spots. Tires break down in spots: vou know that. Well, we simply build them like a well-knit athlete; Marathon Hand-Made Tires are tough and they are uniform; no weak spots. Write us and let us tell you more about tires: you will be interested and probably you'll be instructed: there’s plenty to learn and it all pays the car owner. E look upon Marathon Tires as our business representa we illing to build our reputation on the satisfaction you get in d your complaint made to us about a Marathon erly represent that spirit, will get as prompt atten- about the act of an employee of our company. THE MARATHON TIRE & RUBBER CO. CUYAHOGA FALLS, OHIO CANADIAN FACTORY, ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO “so ‘ 1 xt comicbooks.com