Life, 1922-10-12 · page 27 of 36
Life — October 12, 1922 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It's a Fisk Tires company ad from an era when Life magazine published both humor and commercial content. The image features a **baby or cherub figure riding inside a tire**, with the tagline "Time to Re-tire? (Buy Fisk)." The pun plays on "retire" (rest/replace old tires) versus "re-tire" (put on new tires). The cherub conveys safety, comfort, and trustworthiness—suggesting Fisk tires are so reliable and comfortable, even an infant would be safe riding in one. The ad emphasizes Fisk's claimed superiority: durability, mileage, economy, strength, and safety. The phrase "buy *enough* service" subtly suggests purchasing quality rather than cheap alternatives. This represents early 20th-century advertising strategy: using memorable visual humor and aspirational imagery to build brand loyalty rather than focusing purely on technical specifications.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Time to Re-tire? (Buy Fisk) TRADE MARK REG. U. S. PAT. OFF. ISK TIRES have brought complete satisfaction this year to those careful buyers who make sure that they buy enough service every time they make a tire purchase. To these buyers Fisk Tires have shown a surprising and welcome economy in the extraordinary mileage they have yielded, free from the troubles often incident to a year’s driving. The quality which is the basis of this consistent excellence can be easily seen if you will compare any other tire with a Fisk for bigness, strength, resilience, good looks and safety. There’s a Fisk Tire of extra value in every size, for car, truck or speed wagon nr comicbooks.com