Life, 1927-08-11 · page 36 of 36
Life — August 11, 1927 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **cigarette advertisement**, not political satire. The page features a Camel cigarettes ad from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (dated 1927 based on the visible "©1927"). The photograph shows beachgoers in vintage swimwear relaxing by the ocean, with a Camel cigarette package prominently displayed above. The imagery connects smoking to leisure, pleasure, and social bonding—common advertising strategies of the era. The tagline "Camel is as good as the sea is wide" uses poetic language to suggest the cigarette's superior quality and universal appeal. The ad text emphasizes Camel's "deep quality," smooth taste, and positioning as a "loyal smoking companion" for both work and play. This represents pre-regulation tobacco advertising, when such campaigns could freely associate cigarettes with health, relaxation, and social desirability—claims now prohibited.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Camel is as good as the sea is wide BOUNDLESSLY deep is the quality of Camel. Its cool, smooth smoke is as tasty and fragrant, as restful and friendly as an ocean plunge. Modern smokers, educated by experience to the quality of tobaccos, have made Camel their favor- ite. In worktime and playtime, Camel is the most loyal smoking companion any- one ever had. The choicest Turkish and Domestic tobaccos tell in the smoking. Expert blending has its part in making Camel the finished masterpiece of cigarettes. In creating Camels no cost or care is too great to make them the fittest and finest, regardless of price. If you don’t yet know Camels, you are invited to complete taste satisfaction. Camel is the smoking friend that will never fail you. It’s first in this modern, particular age. "Have a Camel!” R. J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY, WINSTON-SALEM, N. C. ¥ comicbooks -com