Life, 1918-05-23 · page 2 of 40
Life — May 23, 1918 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a straightforward **product advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It promotes Michelin tires by emphasizing their superior construction and durability. The visual metaphor shows two men in formal attire examining a giant cross-section of a tire through a measurement scale. A bundled figure (the "Michelin Man" mascot) stands inside the tire opening, illustrating its interior thickness and quality materials. The advertisement's main argument: consumers should ask tire dealers to show cross-sections of competing brands so they can compare rubber and fabric thickness. Michelin claims their 34x4 Universal tire contains more high-quality wear-resistant materials than competitors, while remaining "moderate in price." This represents typical early-20th-century advertising strategy: technical specifications and direct brand comparison to establish product superiority.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Before deciding on your next tire, your dealer show, you cros i the various makes you are considering— so that you can measure the total th ness of the rubber and fabric used in building up the tire. You will find that Michelin Tires embody more of these mile giving materials. In the 34 x 4 Michelin Universal, for in- stance, there ble mass of w isting rubber and fabric almost an inch thick. And every bit of the of the highest quality. Yet Michelins are moderate in price. Michelin Tire Co., Milltown, N. J. materials used is comicbooksieemy