Life, 1928-11-09 · page 50 of 52
Life — November 9, 1928 — page 50: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **house advertisement** for *Life* magazine itself, targeting potential advertisers. The page makes no political satire; instead, it's a pitch to advertising professionals about *Life*'s value as an advertising medium. The key claims are: - *Life* reaches important people efficiently—"the best people, at the best time, per dollar" - The magazine proves a publication needn't have massive circulation to matter - It references "The Rogers Campaign" (likely a notable advertising success) as proof of *Life*'s influence - *Life*'s readers are individually influential and collectively significant—"bigger than any yardstick" - The final quip ("unless cash registers are funny, that's no joke!") uses humor to suggest advertising in *Life* generates actual sales The footnote "*We mean less than three million*" is self-deprecating humor: while three million readers seems large, *Life* positions quality over raw numbers. The advertisement essentially says: *Life* reaches influential audiences who matter to luxury or premium brands.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
8 LIFeE AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR ADVERTISING MEY LI BE... pevin that a magazine need not be dull to be im- portant; that big things can be discussed without big words; and that big people can be reached without big circulation’ * We mean less than three million— The Rogers Campaign, which has attracted inter Pe. S— national attention, is one LIFE will show an advertisement to more __ visible, tangible indication of the best people, at the best time, per dol- _ of theinfluence of thismagz- lar, than any other magazine. And unless zine. Lire’s readers, indi- cash registers are funny, that’s no joke! _ vidually and in bulk, are bigger than any yardstick. Lirt itself is hard to classify as other than “A vigorous American institution.” comicbooks.com