Life — April 20, 1922 — page 2: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is an **advertisement, not a cartoon or satire**. It's a Michelin tire company ad from an early 20th-century issue of *Life* magazine. The image uses dramatic visual contrast: an enormous Michelin tire dominates the composition, towering over a tiny village scene below with period automobiles and buildings. The copy addresses consumers who already trust Michelin's "Ring Shaped Tubes" (their inner tubes), rhetorically asking why they wouldn't choose Michelin Cords (tires) since "they are just as good." The Michelin Man mascot (the Bibendum character) appears in the lower left corner. The ad's strategy relies on brand loyalty and comparative product quality claims to sell their tire line to an early automotive market.