Life — May 20, 1920 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page is primarily **advertising, not satire**. It's a Miller Tire Company advertisement from Life magazine (page 925). The central illustration shows two men in business attire examining a large tire—a straightforward product demonstration image, not political commentary or caricature. The ad emphasizes Miller Tires' durability through competitive testing: a bus achieved 22,000 miles on a single tire, and only 15 tires failed out of a $500,000 retail business. The copy stresses rigorous factory testing (1,000 tires tested constantly) and challenges consumers to compare Miller Tires against competitors. The tire illustration on the right displays the product's patented center tread design. This is standard commercial advertising highlighting manufacturing reliability and performance metrics—typical early 20th-century promotional strategy with no satirical element.