Life — December 6, 1917 — page 14: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a **cigarette advertisement**, not political satire. It's a "Christmas Life" magazine advertisement for Rameses cigarettes. The ad features an Egyptian statue (likely referencing Rameses, the ancient pharaoh) and uses the tagline **"Nobody ever changes from Rameses,"** suggesting brand loyalty and consistency as selling points. The copy advertises product varieties: "tens twenties and week-end tins" plus "large size for particular occasions." **What modern readers should know:** This represents early 20th-century tobacco marketing that freely used aspirational imagery (ancient Egypt's prestige) and made implicit health/lifestyle claims. Such direct cigarette advertising to general audiences became prohibited in many countries by the late 20th century. The casual Christmas framing of tobacco products would be unthinkable in contemporary advertising.