Life — October 3, 1918 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Fatima Cigarettes Advertisement This is a **cigarette advertisement**, not political satire. It markets Fatima brand cigarettes to U.S. Navy officers by claiming over 80% of cigarettes sold in Officers' Mess aboard naval vessels are Fatimas. The advertisement emphasizes two selling points: the brand's appealing taste and that Fatimas "never talk back"—meaning they don't "bite back" or cause throat irritation if smoked in excess. The illustration shows a dramatic scene of a naval destroyer with sailors on shore, with smoke rings rising from the cigarette. This was standard early-20th-century advertising imagery designed to associate the product with military prestige and masculine authority.