Life, 1927-10-06 · page 40 of 40
Life — October 6, 1927 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Camel cigarette advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. Dated 1927, it uses a photograph of well-dressed men and women in 1920s attire and hats to market cigarettes as a luxury product associated with sophistication and modernity. The ad targets "modern, particular smokers" by emphasizing quality and refinement. The tagline "Have a Camel!" and repeated claims of being "mellow, mild and unfailingly good" appeal to aspirational consumers seeking status through tobacco consumption. **Historical context for modern readers**: This predates the Surgeon General's 1964 warning on smoking's health dangers. Cigarette advertising in mainstream magazines was standard and used lifestyle imagery to normalize smoking among affluent audiences. The gendered presence of women in the photo reflects early 20th-century marketing's gradual shift toward female smokers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
your insistence upon the best that makes Camel lead all other cigarettes. You are hard to please. In the true spirit of the modern age, you look for until you find value supreme in a ciga- rette. And it is this unremitting search for quality that puts Camel over- whelmingly first. For Camel combines all those virtues so indispensable to the cool, satisfying smoke. The choicest Turkish and Camels—so mellow, mild and unfailingly good MODERN, particular smokers, it is Domestic tobaccos that Nature’s sunny fields produce. And a blending that brings these inimitable flavors and fra- grances to the delighted taste of the smoker. Really, there is no other smoke like Camel. No other can be so everlastingly good. If your taste calls for the enchant- ment of the finest, just try Camels. Always tasteful and smooth. Always so mellow and mild. "Have a Camel!” R. J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY, WINSTON-SALEM, N. C. comicbooks.com