Life, 1925-09-10 · page 4 of 41
Life — September 10, 1925 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Listerine advertisement**, not a political cartoon. The page shows a woman in apparent distress with the headline "But I can't possibly!" The ad depicts a social scenario: a friend invites her to a party in ten minutes, but she protests she lacks time to bathe and dress. The advertisement's solution is to use Listerine mouthwash as a quick "freshening up" product—positioning it as a perspiration deodorant for occasions when full bathing is impractical. The narrative demonstrates a common advertising strategy of the era: creating anxiety about social acceptability, then offering a product as a solution. The emphasis on using Listerine to address hygiene concerns quickly reflects early-to-mid 20th-century marketing that conflated personal cleanliness with social success and acceptability.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
But I can’t possibly! E’LL be over for you in ten minutes,” her friend was saying on the *phone. “But I can’t pos- sibly make it that soon,” she protested. “Tt wouldn’t even give me time for a tub and to get dressed!” She was in a terrible quandary. Then sud- denly something occurred to her—an advertisement she had read about using Listerine to freshen up quickly. It solved her problem. And she joined the party. ** * Listerine really is delightfully way, particu- en you feel hot and uncomfortable—may be after shopping; when you want hen up quickly aft exercising; when traveling on trains makes you wish for the old tub back home. the trick—and it’s rine won't irritate or stain garments. You'l i be delighted with it. To test the deodorizing prop- ies of Listerine, simply try some day: Rub a little i urhand. Then douse on Listerine. The onion odor immediately disappears. remarkable— comicbooks.com