Life, 1921-12-29 · page 2 of 35
Life — December 29, 1921 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not a cartoon but an **editorial advertisement** — a full-page essay promoting the value of advertising itself. Published December 29, 1921, the piece uses an extended metaphor comparing dishonest manufacturers to burglars: both operate in darkness and secrecy. By contrast, reputable companies advertise openly, inviting public scrutiny. The argument positions advertising as a **trust signal** — only confident businesses with genuinely good products dare publicize themselves. The piece encourages readers to trust and read advertisements, framing them as informative guides to "progressive business" innovations. This is **meta-advertising**: the magazine uses editorial space to justify why people should pay attention to the advertisements that fund publications like *Life*.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Live: Published Wi Publishing Entered as Second Class Matter June 8, 1883 at the Post OMce at New York, Company at 598 st ew York, N. ¥. N. Y., under the act’of March 3 Entered as Secon! fatter at the Post Office Department, Canada. Copyrigh land and the British essions, Burglars Don’t Seek The Limelight S ARKNESS is their stock in trade. They work by stealth—unheard and unseen—their movements cloaked in secrecy. It’s honest folks that seek the light. They are the only ones who can risk it. It’s the same way in business. The manufacturer who is not sure of his goods does not dare to advertise. Advertising would hasten the end of his business career —put him to a test he could not meet. The manufacturer who advertises, deliberately in- vites your inspection. He tells you about his product and then lets it stand on its own merits. You can de- pend on him. He knows his product is good. That’s one reason why it pays you to read the adver- tisements. It is through advertising that you are able to keep in touch with the good things that progressive business men are spending their money to introduce and to keep before you. Advertisements are interesting, instructive and profit- able. They throw a powerful light on the very things that concern you most. Read them. comicbooks.com