Life, 1923-10-11 · page 35 of 36
Life — October 11, 1923 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Kelly-Springfield tire advertisement** using humor rather than a political cartoon. The joke: Two men in a car discuss the car's worn tires. One ("Doc") calls the vehicle an "old cripple," while the other (Tom) notes the tires have lasted so long he can't justify buying the new car he promised himself once they wore out. The humor plays on consumer frustration—the tires are *too durable*, preventing him from upgrading. The advertisement then pivots: Kelly-Springfield tires, while not literally eternal, come closest to lasting forever. This salesmanship strategy acknowledges tire quality while suggesting buyers can trust the brand's durability. The cartoon reflects early 20th-century car culture, when tire replacement was a major maintenance expense and a sign of vehicle aging. The satire gently mocks both consumer desire for new purchases and the reliability problem the advertiser claims to solve.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
a” “Say, Doc, don’t you think yow’ve had your money’s worth out of that old cripple: ‘| “Well, Tom, I promised myself a new car when this set of tires wore out but blamed if tt don’t look like they'd last forever.” ELLY-SPRINGFIELD Cords will not last for- ever but they will come as near it as any tire ever made. In addition they will give you service P practically free from tire trouble, assure you safety from skidding on nearly any kind of road in any kind of weather and increase the pleasure of your motoring 100 per cent. It costs no more to buy ae a Kelly. VEYA comicbooks.com