Life — July 1, 1926 — page 39: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a **Fisk Tire Company advertisement** from 1926, not political satire. The image features the famous "Fisk Boy" mascot—a cherubic child in pajamas holding a tire—looking tired and yawning while holding up a clock showing bedtime. The advertisement's slogan reads "Time to retire / Get a Fisk" (a pun on "retire" meaning both going to bed and replacing worn tires). Below, several dogs look up at the boy and a horse peers over a fence, all watching this bedtime scene. The humor plays on the double meaning of "retire": it's a lighthearted pitch suggesting tired drivers (and their worn-out tires) should "retire" them and get Fisk replacements. The imagery of childhood bedtime creates an innocent, memorable marketing appeal typical of early 20th-century advertising.