Life, 1928-03-15 · page 3 of 34
Life — March 15, 1928 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Coca-Cola advertisement** disguised as satirical commentary, published in *Life* magazine (dated March 15, 1928, based on the footer). The ad humorously attributes a fake Shakespeare quote to King Lear, claiming the Bard endorsed Coca-Cola as a "pure drink of natural flavors." The illustration shows King Lear in his traditional royal garb surrounded by flowers, positioned as if endorsing the product. The satire works on two levels: it mocks both Shakespeare scholarship (misquoting the Bard) and advertising's tendency to invoke classical authority to sell modern products. The phrase "8 million a day" boasts of Coca-Cola's sales volume. The bottom tagline—"It had to be good to get where it is"—drives home the commercial message: popularity proves quality. This represents early 20th-century advertising's creative appropriation of high culture to market consumer goods.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
—_ —_ Shakespeare =| 28""\_-»’ A (6g; says about Coca-Cola i) | Delicious and Refreshing | ‘“‘Nature’s above art in that respect’’ ~ At the time in question King Lear was tricked up like a walking florist’s shop—but he ” was still wise in his sayings. Liking to refresh himself, even as you and I, what a full- meaning headline he turned out for the following Coca- Cola ad: A pure drink of natural flavors a “W.. . — produced before the day of King Lear eve synthetic and artificial drinks, Act IV, Scene 6 and still made from the same 8 m1 1] lion_s pure products of nature. a day WHERE IT 185 bwon, President: Langhorne Gibson, Secretary and Treasurer. Subscription, 3.00. Vol, #1, No. 2347, ech 3. 1870, Printed io U. 8. A. Ent'd as 2ad Class Matter at the Post Office Depi., Canada comicbooks.com