Life, 1926-12-30 · page 2 of 37
Life — December 30, 1926 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the shift in consumer power enabled by advertising. The cartoon shows a worried shopkeeper anxious about losing customers, while a confident consumer walks away. The text argues that in the old days, buyers had to be cautious ("let the buyer beware"). Now advertising has reversed the dynamic: sellers must compete for customers' trust by maintaining quality and reputation. The author claims advertising makes shopping safer and more pleasant by forcing sellers to behave ethically—they can't afford to disappoint customers or their advertised reputation suffers. The piece celebrates this as progress, though modern readers might recognize it as optimistic about advertising's regulatory power. The "Andy Consumer" signature suggests this reflects consumer advocacy messaging of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE DONATES THIS SERIES IN BEHALF OF BETTER MERCHANDISE LET THE SELLER BEWARE *M old enough to remember when folks had to watch out when they went into a store. All buying was fraught with fear I remember my father used to bite the mer- chandise, stretch it, take it outdoors and look at it, ponder and paw over it—and then start to bargain. Quality and price were both questionable. Only darn fools failed to get a pair of socks and some garters with every pair of shoes. It took an hour to spend two dollars. In them days it was “let the buyer beware.” These days it is “let the seller beware” and the seller himself has brought about the change. He now advertises. When advertising came in, the bewaring shifted. Advertising at first was just noise. Then sellers began to see that advertising is merely another word for reputation. And since advertising ccsts big money, sellers reasoned that reputation has cash value. Advertising is too expensive for fly-by- nights. Gypsies don’t advertise. If you spend thousands to tell where and who you are, you have got to stay THERE and re- main WHO If there is any fear left today, it is the seller's. He has bet his big advertising appropriation you will come back pleased. He doesn’t dare sting, disappoint or cheat. Advertising has made shopping safe, speedy and pleasant for us buyers. We can almost buy carelessly these days—so bewarish are the sellers. THE NATIONAL ADVERTISER BETS HIS ADVERTISING MONEY THAT HIS PRODUCT IS RIGHT comicbooks.com