Life, 1922-05-11 · page 29 of 38
Life — May 11, 1922 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Kelly-Springfield tire advertisement**, not a political cartoon. The illustration depicts two vintage automobiles driving in heavy rain on slippery streets. The caption's dialogue suggests both drivers are safe because they're using Kelly-Springfield Kant-Slip Cord tires. The humor relies on the double meaning of "well"—implying both that the driving situation went smoothly *and* that the tire brand name (Kelly) sounds like "well." This is a pun-based advertising approach typical of 1920s marketing. The accompanying text promotes the tire's benefits: superior traction on wet roads, long mileage, and competitive pricing against ordinary tires. This reflects early automotive advertising that emphasized safety innovation and reliability—key selling points as automobiles became more common.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
_ “Tt wouldn't have been ‘well’ if we hadn’t both been driving on Kelly- Springfield Cords!” OT only will the new Kelly Kant-Slip Cord tire help the driver to keep his car _ under control on slippery streets, but it will give him the long, uninterrupted mileage which Kelly users have come to expect as a matter of course. Best of all, you can now buy Kellys for no more than you would have to pay for ordinary tires. comicbooks.com