Life, 1922-09-14 · page 29 of 40
Life — September 14, 1922 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Whitman's Sampler chocolates, established 1842. The visual shows a stylized silhouette of a well-dressed man in a hat holding a Whitman's Sampler box. The accompanying text argues that Americans increasingly "discriminate" by choosing **quality over quantity**—a marketing pitch suggesting discriminating consumers prefer Whitman's refined product. The "Quality Group" reference implies market segmentation: affluent, tasteful buyers who value "quaintness, originality," and premium goods. The text emphasizes Whitman's distribution network through "ten thousand selected stores," typically leading drugstores, positioning the brand as accessible yet exclusive. For modern readers: this reflects early 20th-century advertising strategy equating luxury consumption with refined taste and social status, while the word "discriminate" carried no negative connotation—it simply meant "to distinguish" between superior and inferior products.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
27 Famous since 1842 The Leader of the Quality Group The great and continued success and popularity of the Sampler is evidence that Americans do discriminate. There’s a growing host of people who demand quality rather than quantity. The Sampler won its success by reason of quality, quaintness, originality. It holds its leadership largely because of the service rendered by ten thousand selected stores—one in nearly every neighborhood— that are selected agents for the sale of Whitman products. The store nearby that has the Whitman agency is a good store to know— usually the leading drug store. STEPHEN F. WHITMAN & SON, Inc., Philadelphia, U. S. A. Marshmallow Sole makers of Whitman's Instantaneous Chocolate, Cocoa and New York Branch: 215 W. 33rd St. Chicago Branch: 1537 Michigan Ave. » South San Francisco Branch: 449 Minna St. sssssussssesoenecatestenieastannaaniesiie comicbooks.com