Life, 1918-09-12 · page 27 of 34
Life — September 12, 1918 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a wartime propaganda advertisement (likely WWI or WWII era, based on the Red Cross reference and meat rationing context). The ad urges civilians to eat more vegetables and less meat to support government war efforts—meat was needed for troops. The satirical element: Lucky Strike cigarettes capitalize on this patriotic messaging by claiming their "toasting" process enhances flavor, analogous to how cooking brings out vegetable flavors. The ad then awkwardly pivots to selling cigarettes as part of the same "help the Government" theme. The humor lies in the absurd juxtaposition: cigarettes are promoted as a patriotic wartime contribution alongside actual food rationing. The advertisement also mentions saving tin-foil from cigarette packages for the Red Cross—a common WWII recycling initiative—further blending commercial advertising with genuine wartime sacrifice.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
vegetables LESS AT more vegetables — less meat. You'll feel better, and help the Government, besides. Here are two you can’t beat— new string beans, perfectly cooked in butter, and new creamed onions. You don’t need meat. How the cooking brings out their flavor! Cooking helps everything. Just try Lucky Strike Cigarette—it’s toasted. Save the tin-foil from Lucky Strike Cigarettes and give it to the Red Cross comicbooks.com