Life, 1926-08-12 · page 29 of 36
Life — August 12, 1926 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Gillette Safety Razors by claiming that 629 of 761 railroad workers surveyed agreed the product was superior—using this statistic as proof of quality. The large illustration depicts railroad workers (identifiable by their uniforms and work setting) gathered around a locomotive, establishing the "working man" demographic the ad targets. The appeal is to masculine authority and practical judgment: if tough, experienced laborers agree, the product must be trustworthy. The ad includes product images showing "The Bostonian" razor set in gold and silver plate versions, priced $5-$7.50. **The satire element** (typical of Life magazine's style) lies in the exaggerated logic: the ad humorously suggests that overwhelming numerical agreement among any group "MUST" indicate superior merit—a tongue-in-cheek commentary on advertising's persuasive tactics, even as it uses exactly that technique to sell razors.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
629 out of 761 Railroad Men agreed on one Razor— Gillette ONE man might be mistaken in his judgment, or a score of men, or even a ‘hundred: But when an overwhelming majority of keen-minded representative men agree without qualification ona single product, it MUST have unusual merit. So when a careful ‘inquiry discloses such a striking preference for Gillette Safety Razor on the part of railroad men, it is indisputable evidence that here is the universally accepted means to the perfect shave. This is simply another proof that —based on the perfection of its shaving service, Gillette pre-eminence is an accomplished fact! GILLETTE SAFETY RAZOR CO., BOSTON, U.S. A. °5 0°75 The Bostonian In Gold Plate, $6. In Silver Plate, $5- THE QUALITY RAZOR OF THE WORLD comicbooks.com