Life — February 10, 1927 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is primarily a **Metropolitan Life Insurance advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. The page uses the headline "Broke—but Worth $79,100.00" to promote life insurance by reframing a working-class family's actual value. The illustration shows a father with children and a mother doing household work. The text argues that despite earning only $50/week and struggling financially, this "typical American family" possesses substantial hidden wealth—calculated at $79,100 through the combined earning potential and life value of all family members. The advertisement's message: life insurance protects this economic value. It appeals to working-class anxiety about financial security while suggesting that even "broke" families have significant worth worth protecting through insurance policies. This reflects 1920s-era marketing targeting ordinary Americans.