Life, 1925-02-12 · page 2 of 36
Life — February 12, 1925 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece imagines a consumer (labeled "Andy Consumer") firing back at national advertisers with his own advertisement. The cartoon shows Andy shooting an arrow at a target-wearing figure labeled "National Advertiser," captioned "Getting Back at Him." The satire critiques the one-sided nature of advertising: historically, only corporations could advertise to consumers. Andy's fictional "first consumer ad" reverses this power dynamic—he threatens to launch a retaliatory advertising campaign next week to "tantalize" the big companies as they've teased him. The joke reflects early-20th-century frustration with aggressive marketing tactics. By imagining consumer-created counter-advertising, the piece humorously protests the asymmetrical relationship between corporations and the public they target.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE: Pubiiabed Weekly by Life Pub, Co.. st £98 Madison Ave., New York. N.Y. Subscription, at New Vort, N.Y Maren 3, 1et¥. Pe A Pitered ‘aa Se vines in U.S ol. 85. No, 2206. February 12, 1005.” Ratered ee mia. Coprrtant, Consvim THE FIRST AD HIS is the first time in history that a consumer has adver- tised to advertisers. Fellow consumers, listen in. If you want to hear a little guy say some things to some big birds, listen in. Up to now, advertising has all been on one side — their side. EVER WRITTEN BY A CONSUMER Here is where advertisers find out how it feels to be advertised to and at. Well, you big advertisers and big manufacturers and little manu- facturers, I just want to tantalize you a little this week. Next week my campaign starts. You have teased me like this. Just suffer until next week. THE NATIONAL ADVERTISER BETS HIS ADVER- | TISING MONEY THAT HIS PRODUCT IS RIGHT ee comicbooks.com