Life — August 8, 1918 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is primarily a **cigarette advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Fatima cigarettes by claiming they're sold more frequently than competitors at all six tobacco stands in the U.S. Capitol building, supposedly because of preference among "big business and professional men from all sections of the United States." The advertisement features an illustration of the Capitol building with crowds of people outside, designed to evoke prestige and authority. The tagline calls Fatima "A Sensible Cigarette," and includes a testimonial about how men who smoke it "think straight and decide quickly." This reflects early 20th-century advertising practices: using government institutions and appeals to masculinity/professional success to market tobacco products—tactics that would later become illegal.