Life, 1921-06-16 · page 35 of 36
Life — June 16, 1921 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **cigarette advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Murad brand Turkish cigarettes to a 1920s American audience. The ad features a woman in orientalist costume (headband, decorative clothing) serving the cigarette package on a tray—a common advertising trope using exotic imagery to suggest luxury and sophistication. The "Turkish" branding appealed to American consumers who associated Turkish tobacco with premium quality. The text's rhetorical strategy equates cigarette quality with moral absolutes: comparing "partly Turkish" cigarettes to "partly good meals" or "partly truthful statements" to argue that only 100% pure Turkish tobacco is acceptable. This appeals to consumer desire for authenticity and completeness. The 20¢ price point and manufacturer credit ("Anargyros") date this to the early cigarette marketing era, before mid-century health concerns emerged.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Turkish is the world’s SUPREME Tobacco for cigarettes. It has no rival, no substitute. Many “ordinary” cigarettes have some Turkish in them to give them some taste and some character. MURAD is all Turkish —all Taste —all Character —all Enjoyment. A partly Turkish cigarette is like a partly good meal or a partly truthful statement. Food, truth and cigarettes, to be right must be 100%. good. MURAD is made of 100% pure Turkish tobacco—personally se- lected from the finest’ and most famous varieties grown, Try MURAD Today, and “Judge for Yourself —!” Mahers of the Highest Grade Turkish Snasgyros and Egyptian Cigarvtes in the Wordd comicbooks.com