Life, 1923-07-12 · page 39 of 40
Life — July 12, 1923 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Kelly Cords tire advertisement disguised as editorial content** in Life magazine. The cartoon depicts a social scene where well-dressed motorists discuss a recent car mishap. One man complains about dangerous road conditions and near-accidents; another responds by recommending Kelly Cord tires as the solution. The "joke" is that this dangerous driving experience becomes an opportunity for product placement. The accompanying text then makes the sales pitch explicitly: Kelly Cords perform reliably in all weather and road conditions, yet cost no more than competitors. **Context for modern readers:** This represents early automotive advertising strategy—using relatable scenarios (bad roads, accidents) to demonstrate product superiority. The phrase "It costs *no more* to buy a Kelly" was the key sales argument: same price, better performance. The piece blurs advertising and editorial content in ways that would now require clear labeling as sponsored material.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Rotten roads? I should say they WERE rotten! And slippery—! We nearly skidded into the ditch twice.” “You ought to use Kelly Cords, old man, They'd save you a lot of worry.” T HERE is scarcely a car owner who has not heard motorist friends praise Kelly Cords. Yet it is hard for a man to realize, until he has learned from experience, that any tire can be so surefooted on all kinds of roads and in all kinds of weather as the Kelly Cord is; or that any tire can give such long mileage under all conditions as the Kelly Cord does. It costs no more to buy a Kelly. comicbooks.com