Life, 1920-04-22 · page 44 of 44
Life — April 22, 1920 — page 44: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page advertisement**, not political satire. Colgate & Co. presents a three-act theatrical play to promote their shaving products. The "play" uses personified characters representing shaving implements: Razor (a young blade), Brush (an heiress who "smoothes the way"), Lather (a kindly old friend played by "Cole Gates"—a pun on Colgate), and Beard (the villain defeated in Act III). The humor is straightforward product messaging: the moral states that using Colgate lather prevents messy finger-rubbing and ensures a comfortable shave. The theatrical framing was a common advertising technique of the era, converting product benefits into entertaining narrative. The illustration shows a hand wielding a razor alongside Colgate's shaving stick, powder, and cream—all displayed as the solution to shaving "comfort."
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-AThree Act Play~ By Mostall Menon Presented by COLGATES Cast Razor....... A gay young blade,who never-the-less works well bru Mr.Cutter Ste Se BG accomplished heiress i who smoothes the way. . Miss Ba Lather......A kindly old eae Mr.Cote Gates Beard.....A villain who is at last eliminated . Costumes b y Bathrobe, Ltd eeenety by Tiles & Marble « mer 8 Co. Gand As Comfort Should! 7 Act 1—Beisk plotting by Brush and Lather. ‘Act 11—Fast, lean cutting by Razor Act [11—Complete rout of Beard. (Curtain? “Cole Gates” is brave, yet kind. Kind to the face; soothing and refreshing no matter how tough the enemy, Be Lather looks only to Brush for help—no mussy “eubbing,in” with the fingers. Moral: Lather with Colgate’s— Then Shave with Comfort.” ye make Shaving Stick, Powe tn ocr 5 Sree can give you this impartial Conse noe economical form of SNE Soap ts che Sick. Oe ne Sick, Pere or Cosme" 99 pes St., New York 1.23 COLGATE & CO,, I Dept. comicbooks.com