Life — August 1, 1918 — page 2: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Murad Turkish Cigarette Advertisement This is a cigarette advertisement disguised as a satirical magazine page. The ad depicts an orientalist fantasy scene on a beach, featuring fashionably dressed figures in 1920s style alongside what appear to be exotic dancers or performers. A turbaned man in military dress and a woman in fashionable Western clothing are central figures. The tagline "What is more irresistible than Murad?" plays on the advertisement's appeal. The imagery exploits contemporary stereotypes about Turkish exoticism and sensuality to market the cigarettes, combining "Turkish" authenticity with modern Western glamour and implied eroticism. This represents typical early 20th-century advertising tactics that combined orientalism with aspirational lifestyle marketing.