Life, 1929-04-26 · page 29 of 36
Life — April 26, 1929 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **cigarette advertisement**, not satire—though it's remarkable by modern standards for its health claims. It features Hamilton Fish Jr., a real U.S. Congressman, endorsing Lucky Strike cigarettes as a fitness aid rather than a sweet indulgence. The ad's central pitch: smoking keeps you thin and fit. Fish claims soldiers in WWI found cigarettes necessary for "nerves" and physical fitness. The ad cites "20,679 physicians" supporting Lucky Strikes as less irritating than competitors, and credits the toasting process with reducing impurities. By today's standards, this is darkly ironic—using a public official to market cigarettes as healthful, citing fabricated medical endorsements, and promoting smoking as an appetite suppressant. In 1929, before widespread understanding of tobacco's dangers, such claims were commonplace marketing strategy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life To keep fit- reach for a Luchy. HAMILTON FISH, JR. National Legislator and Public Official “From actual experience with American Veterans in the Expeditionary Force, I found that cigarette smoking quieted the nerves and that Lucky Strikes were as necessary as food for the soldiers in battle zone. Physical fitness is as essential in pub- lic life and business as itis in football or in the Army. To keep fit, reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet.” Hamitton Fisn, Jr, E moderncommon sense way—reach for a Lucky instead of a fattening sweet. Everyone is doing it—men keep healthy and fit, women retain a trim figure. Lucky Strike, the finest tobaccos, skilfully blended, then toasted to develop a flavor which is a delightful alternative for that craving for fattening sweets. Toasting frees Lucky Strike from im- purities. 20,679 physicians recognize this when they say Luckies are less irri- tating than other cigarettes. That’s why folks say: “It’s good to smoke Luckies.” Caste Authorities attribute the Ore. enormous increase in Cigarette smoking to the improvement in the proc- ess of Cigarette manufacture by the appli- cation of heat. It is true that during 1928, Lucky Strike Cigarettes showed a greater increase than all other Cigarettes com- bined. This confirms in no uncertain terms the public’s confidence in the superiority of Lucky Strike. “It’s toasted” Coast to coast radio hook-up every Saturday night through the National Broadcasting Company’s network. The Lucky Strike Dance Orchestra -in “The Tunes that made Broadway, Broadway.”” © 1929, The American Tobacco Co, Manufacturers comicbooks.com