Life — December 11, 1924 — page 36: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a cigarette advertisement, not political satire. It features the British royal coat of arms prominently displayed above a box of Pall Mall Special Size cigarettes (priced at 20¢ for twenty cigarettes), along with a single cigarette below. The ad's strategy uses royal imagery to convey prestige and quality, suggesting that Pall Mall cigarettes represent "famous" luxury goods. The tagline "They Are Good Taste" attempts to associate smoking with sophistication and refinement. The text promises "the greatest quality purchase in the world," appealing to consumers' desire for status. This reflects early-to-mid 20th century advertising tactics that leveraged British aristocratic imagery to market American consumer products as aspirational and elite.