Life, 1929-03-15 · page 5 of 44
Life — March 15, 1929 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **commercial advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It promotes Dunlop tires by emphasizing their durability and reliability through the American Surety Company's guarantee. The ad uses a marketing strategy common to early 20th-century advertising: it appeals to consumer anxiety by posing hypothetical concerns ("How are you going to be sure of getting trouble-free tires?") then positions the product as the solution through a "Surety Bond" guarantee—a legal backing that adds credibility. The text references Dunlop's manufacturing reputation and Egyptian cotton sourcing. The visual shows a tire displayed prominently alongside an American Surety Building image, combining product and institutional authority to convince readers of trustworthiness. This is straightforward brand-building through guarantee assurance, not satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life This tire is built to stand abuse .. then BONDED against abuse ‘OU want trouble-free tires. How are you going to be sure of getting them? Soppose you were offered a certainty, by a manufacturer who had had a 4o-year record of absolute reliability. Suppose that this tire company had been so successful that you just knew it muse be intelligent. Seppose that tire company backed each tire with the most sweeping guarantee ever offered. Suppose this guarantee not only covered your tires against usual tire haz- ards, but also against accidents, such as collisions and milk bottles... and even against. ABUSES. You would hardly believe such a guarantee. You would think the manufacturer had goce crazy to offer such a guarantee. Bat when you know the tire-maker has teen proved of more-than-average intelli- grace over a period of 4o years. . . when you know his reputation is such that he could borrow millions on his mere name... then, even the most skeptical must believe. No ordinary tire could carry this guarantee Duslop would be too intelligent to offer such a guarantee on an ordinary tire. If the brains and the materials were not put into each Duslop in such full measure as to make it stand abuse, a guarantee like this would be suicidal, All the way from Egypt, where only the foest long-staple cotton is selected... through Dunlop's own spinning mills at Utica, N. Y., where the cord is spun. . . all the way from the rubber plantations on the other side of the globe . . . through the great Dunlop factories at Buffalo. . . where the rubber and the cord are transformed into the finished tire by master craftsmen . . at every step this question guides all: “Will this make a tire that can stand abuse? Dunlop is confident of the answer. A guarantee that is a seal of confidence A guarantee? It is far more than that. “What will make the public SURE that this guarantee will be fulfilled to the very letter?” Dunlop asked that question and thought it through like this: The public knows that a Surety Bond is as certain as the law of gravity. The public knows that of all the companies issuing Surety Bonds, none has a higher rating of intelligence and reliability than the Amer- ican Surety Company of New York. “Is the tire good enough to stand up under such a Surety Bond?” That was the natural question of the bond: ing experts. The fact that they decided to put the name of the American Surety Com- pany behind the guarantee, was the answer. Ie is sweeping . . . it covers tire hazards from accidents to abuses. It is iron-clad . a guarantee in the form of a regular Surety Bond, backed both by Dunlop and the American Surety Company. Before you buy another tire, you will want to know about this. Why not read a copy now. Without a mite of obligation to you we will mail you a specimen Surety Bond FREE. Mail the coupon today. DUNLOP Send for SPECIMEN BOND Free.... THE DUNLOP TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY, Department 511, Buffalo, N. Y. Please send me fret specimen copy of the ecw Dunlop Surety Boad, It is uoderstood this does not obligate me in any way comicbooks.com