Life, 1920-04-08 · page 35 of 44
Life — April 8, 1920 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines reader letters and a toothpaste advertisement. The left side features two opinion pieces: one soldier complaining that Life's editorial undervalued war bonuses (suggesting Life dismissed soldier sacrifices too casually), and an iceman worried about post-war labor costs affecting his industry. The dominant content is a **Pepsodent toothpaste advertisement**—not satire, but period marketing. It claims scientific backing ("statements approved by high dental authorities") and uses a novel advertising strategy: offering a free 10-day trial tube via coupon. The ad's core pitch is that Pepsodent's pepsin-based formula dissolves the invisible "film" that causes tooth discoloration and decay—a claim positioning it as scientifically superior to ordinary toothpaste. The advertisement reflects early 20th-century marketing tactics: scientific authority claims, free samples, and direct mail response coupons. It's notable mainly as a historical artifact of consumer advertising evolution, not as satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Bonuses for Soldiers To my Eovox ov Lire—Sirs A few your editorial in issue of words a ; Jarch rath, put bonus for Lire of ; soldiers doesn't taste Rerns ler how the Ger machine tasted to one boys. You want to pat in your Dill for losses incurred, opportunities sed, ete. 1 onder where and what you were while the war as ng on. TN bet werent siceping out in the mud dodging D (ch shells, ete. You seem t think re quite a diplomat by pro posing that we have received in our ex periences all that we should get. Yor aiminsiny Yes, you e right—we I capitalists; but, just the same who have the capital of it, and the mest of us to get to where we were k off our collars and ties on O, D. Good luck. Editor! I hope the rest of iNion read that editorial of hey did, TL think they wil Yours truly One of the Five Million The Iceman’s Annual Problem cf drticle Under the ye or Lare—Sire Tam the an! threeslollar hat and an air of of gloom? ed thickly on the lakes and \Iready my workmen have cut ored it, as ice © edge of the river. © will be plentiful this gloomy th should Tbe gloomy ? 1 not afraid that winter the summer unnecessary for moth h which to cool th: © babies. No, Lam not afraid sow that the demand for ice er will be greater than ever s that is worrying me is my I going to meet ior cheaper ice? not smiling. Tce will not be because if I raise from will ficial men, the butchers, the confectioners, all of whom have boosted their wares again am still gloomy! Why? Because laborers in harvesting ice this winter de-* (Continued on page 677) Those White Teeth Ask People How They Get Them All Statements Approved by High Dental Authorities Millions of teeth are being cleaned in a new way. You see them everywhere— white, glistening teeth. Ask about them. The owners will tell you, probably, that they use Pepsodent. They have found a way to fight the film which causes most tooth troubles. Millions have already proved it. Lead- ing dentists everywhere advise it. And over 6,000 new people daily write us for a 10-Day Tube. Why Teeth Discolor A viscous film forms on the teeth and coats them. You can feel it with your tongue. Modern dentists know this film to be the teeth’s great enemy. It clings to teeth, enters crevices and stays, The tooth brush does not i The ordinary tooth paste does not di it. So it remains to do a ceaseless damage, Let Your Make this free test. Look at your teeth now, then look in ten days. Let your mirror tell the story. Pepsodent is based on pepsin, the diges- tant of albumin. The film is albuminous matter. The object of Pepsodent is to dissolve it, then to day by day combat it. Science has lately made this method possible. Pepsin must be activated, and the usual agent is an acid harmful to the teeth. Pepsadéent The New-Day Dentifrice | The scientific film combatant, now advised by leading dentists every- ;where and supplied by druggists in ‘large tubes. until removed bycleaningin a dentist's chair, Film is what discolors—not the teeth. It is the basis of tartar, It holds food sub- stance which ferments and forms acid. It holds the acid in contact with the teeth to cause decay. Millions of germs breed in it. The tartar, are the chief cause of pyorrhea. So, despite the tooth brush, all these troubles have been constantly increasing. Now We Combat Film Dental science, after years of searching, has found a way to combat film. Five years of careful tests have proved this be- yond question. The method is now embodied in a den- tifrice called Pepsodent. It complies in all ways with modern dental requirements. And a 10-Day Tube of this tooth paste is now sent free to anyone who asks. Mirror Tell So it long seemed barred. But a harmless activating method has been found, so active pepsin can be every day applied. Send the coupon for a 10-Day Tube. Note how clean the teeth feel after using. Mark the absence of the viscous film, See how the teeth whiten as the fixed film disappears. The results are quick and evident. They are all- important, You will never go back to old methods when you know them. For the sake of cleaner, safer teeth cut out this coupon now. [ttt ttre nnn +--+ ------ Ten-Day Tube Free THE PEPSODENT COMPANY, Dept. 279, 1104 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, Ill. Mail 10-Day Tube of Pepsodent to Name Address: comicbooks.com