Life, 1926-11-18 · page 29 of 44
Life — November 18, 1926 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Cadillac automobile advertisement**, not political satire or a cartoon. It appears in *Life* magazine's advertising section (page 27). The ad promotes Cadillac's "Silver Anniversary" (25th year) by emphasizing consumer choice: 50 body styles and 500 color/upholstery combinations. The text frames this customization as revolutionary—comparing it to architectural individuality breaking monotonous uniformity. For modern readers: This reflects 1920s-30s **mass production marketing philosophy**. While Henry Ford famously offered Model Ts in any color "as long as it is black," Cadillac (GM's luxury division) positioned itself as offering personal expression through options. The underlying message appeals to American individualism while actually selling standardized vehicles with cosmetic variations—a strategy that became standard automotive marketing. The photograph shows a period roadster parked in front of a mansion, reinforcing the luxury positioning.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
50 BODY STYLES AND TYPES 54 - 500 COLOR COMBINATIONS Ak: E nation-wide Cadillac Silver Anniversary Salon opened the eyes of America still more fully to the sharply radical change which Cadillac’s individualization of the automobile introduces into fine car buying. Now the public understands how richly Cadillac, with its 50 Body Styles and Types and its 500 Color and Upholstery Combina- tions, has, in this, its twenty-fifth year, added to the satisfaction which may be derived from motor car ownership. This new turn which Cadillac has given to the history of the motor car is of much the CAD] NEW 9 O DIVISION OF GENERAL MOTORS same importance as if, in a world of dreary architectural sameness, the possibility of making every house entirely different, were suddenly to relieve the dead monotony. No matter how strongly individual a person may be, he can choose from among the 50 Standard and Custom creations of Cadillac a car that in slightest, most minute detail con- forms to his requirements. And that car becomes still more his individual own, when he selects its exterior and interior trim from among the practically endless variety of Cadil- lac’s 500 color and upholstery combinations. DECREE CORPORATION comicbooks.com