Life, 1918-10-31 · page 2 of 34
Life — October 31, 1918 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **cigarette advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes "Omar Aroma" cigarettes made by The American Tobacco Company. The ad features two illustrated men in what appears to be a baseball scene—one batting, another pitching or catching. The copy plays on sports imagery, suggesting that smoking Omar cigarettes provides confidence during high-pressure moments ("after four strikes running"). The advertisement emphasizes the cigarettes' aromatic blend of Turkish and domestic tobaccos. The humor is lighthearted and commercial rather than satirical—using relatable scenarios (athletic competition, wanting to appear calm under pressure) to market the product to male consumers. This represents early 20th-century advertising that would be considered unethical today due to health concerns about tobacco.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Met Street New juaranteed by ON KHnovicanh INCORPORATED: Entered at Second Class Matte i After four strikes running — when the boy is setting them up again —and you feel strong—and the other fellow thinks he’d better brace up—and you know you've got his number—and want to look unconcerned —and the aroma of a cigarette tastes sweetest— Try Omar Aroma OmarOmatr spells A roma The very name is redolent with aroma For Omar is the aromatic blend of 13 kinds of rich Turkish and 6 of ripe domes- tic tobaccos—which make the perfect Turkish blend. These aromatic tobaccos, mixed in a sterilizing cylinder of burnished copper through which white clouds of super- heated steam are forced, blend into one perfect Omar aroma; then rightly grad- uated cooling seals in the perfect Aroma. And there Omar aroma is sure to stay —until some time when a cigarette is sure to taste the sweetest —you try Omar—perhaps just after four strikes running or some other time when keen good taste insists that only Omar's aroma can make a ciga- rette taste sweetest. Aroma makes a cigarette They’ve told you that for years comicbooks.com