Life, 1918-02-21 · page 3 of 40
Life — February 21, 1918 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **Miller Rubber Company advertisement**, not satire. It appears in Life magazine (page 283) and uses a rhetorical device rather than political cartooning. The ad features a craftsman wearing an apron marked "M" and poses a question: should consumers buy uniform or "lottery" tires? The premise argues that Miller has solved the tire-manufacturing problem by standardizing quality—all tires built by individual workers vary in quality, making purchasing a gamble. The ad's "satire" is commercial rather than political: it mocks competitors' practices of variable quality control. The text emphasizes Miller's system rates workers by efficiency, ensuring consistent products. This is early 20th-century industrial marketing using comparative messaging—positioning Miller tires as the rational, scientific choice versus inferior competitors' "lottery."
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
oe be : ‘ 283 Canad || “Weve Created A Body Of Master Tire Builders” -| Uniform Tires or “Lottery” Tires? ae | Decide Between Them Now—Once for All e Tires contain much handwork. Hence they must always differ in mileage as an the men who build them differ. To make tires uniform—as Miller has done ni —“human variables” must go. This explains why all tires of a given brand HA i are not so good as the best that the factory makes. Until now there has been ily no way (in buying) to tell the “lucky” tire from the faulty. nd : T one time Miller Tires varied as the others do. build ever falls below our mileage mark. Records on thou- nes . Now 99 Millers in 100 exceed the standard guaran- _ sands and thousands of tires prove this conclusively. ° J tee, Less chan one per cont ever require adjustment, "he And in Akron, Ohio, where seven-tenths of all tires are Geared-to-the-Road oc et produced, the Miller outsells at retail every other make. 7 ee | : Miller also gives you the tread that is geared-fo-the: . : road. The ratchet-like tread that engages the ground as ; Built by World Champions yon gt. t To make uniform tires ro requires uniform tire ' builders. And Miller has succeeded by bringing the workmen on line. Today these Miller ‘Thus slipping is large- ly prevented. And the wheels can’t spin and scuff the tires in starting. Uniform tires can't be made at high speed. ese masters are the cham- Picked xh pions of the industry. Ana thosinds of work. ool Each one is rated on his personal efficiency. Each tire men cannot all be champions. he builds is counted for or against him. , Hence Miller Tires must always fall short of demand, of i] J Ifever one comes back, his standing is penalized. Only one dealer in each neighborhood can be supplied. And ith Yet under this searching system these men average 96 only about one motorist in fifty can get Millers. ute Per cent perfect, So don't put off, When you can get certainty, why for More than that—not one in a hundred of tires that they trust to luck? If you want the utmost air capacity -size for size—ask for Miller Cord Tires. They are truly luxurious—yet not a luxury, because they cost less per mile than any other type. THE MILLER RUBBER COMPANY, Akron, Ohio Makers of Miller Red and Gray Inner Tubes—The Team-Mates of Uniform Tires r xun | comicbooks.com