Life — June 13, 1918 — page 29: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is an advertisement for the Cole Aero-Eight automobile, manufactured by the Cole Motor Car Company in Indianapolis. The ad presents the car as heralding "The Dawn of a New Era." The imagery combines classical and modern symbolism: allegorical figures (muses or goddesses) in the clouds above represent progress and enlightenment, while an early airplane flies overhead—contemporary symbols of technological advancement. The car itself is positioned as the earthly manifestation of this new age. This is straightforward advertising rather than political satire. It reflects early 20th-century marketing that linked automobiles to progress, modernity, and aspiration. The classical artistic style lends gravitas to the product, appealing to consumers' desires to be part of an advancing civilization.