Life — June 24, 1920 — page 2: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Mercer Motors Advertisement This is primarily a **commercial advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes the Mercer automobile, manufactured by Mercer Motors (operated by Hares Motors, Inc. in New York City) with the tagline "WE SHALL KEEP FAITH." The ad depicts a luxury touring car parked beneath a dramatic natural rock arch, with figures enjoying a scenic riverside outing. The sales pitch emphasizes safety features—staunch wheels, reliable brakes, superior steering—and positions the Mercer as enabling carefree leisure travel ("drinks in all the beauty that his eye can reach"). This reflects early 20th-century automobile marketing targeting affluent consumers who could afford recreational motoring excursions. The romantic landscape imagery appeals to aspirational lifestyles rather than containing political commentary.