Life, 1925-11-05 · page 39 of 50
Life — November 5, 1925 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It's a Fisher Body Company promotional piece from *Life* magazine promoting automobile bodies. The ad features a photograph of a woman and child admiring an automobile, with decorative Art Deco framing and the Fisher Bodies logo. The accompanying text argues that Fisher Bodies became prestigious *before* consumers knew the company's name—buyers simply recognized superior quality in cars using Fisher bodies. The rhetoric claims this demonstrates how the public instinctively appreciates craftsmanship: better design, durability, finish, and comfort. The ad positions Fisher as the premium choice across all price categories, using the paradox of "unknown brand preference" to suggest that excellence speaks for itself. This reflects early 1920s automobile marketing, when car bodies (the visible exterior) were increasingly important selling points as mechanically, competing vehicles became similar. The emotional appeal to the family suggests stability and trust.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HUNDREDS of thousands of motor car buyers had actually learned to prefer Fisher Bodies before the public was made familiar with the Fisher name. That statement sounds like a paradox. Itis,onthecontrary,a fact intensely significant of the certainty with which the public recognizes higher merit and greater value. Long before the public had learned to demand—“Is the body by Fisher?”—motor car owners everywhere had come to know that the bodies of a certain few automobiles were far superior. It was not a mere coincidence that the manufacturersof these cars were, one and all, clients of Fisher eons The public was quick to ap- preciate that these few, out- standing cars were smarter in body design; that the bodies retained their finish and their good looks longer; that they were finer, more comfortable, more durable. Such an obviousadvantage was sure to increase, and it did increase, the sale of these cars with Fisher bodies. They became leaders in point of volume, and in point of value—and they are leaders in both, today. In each price division, there is an outstandingcar which offers the advantages and superiori- ties so widely recognized in a ea body which bears the emblem —Body by Fisher. comicbooks.com