Life, 1929-05-24 · page 35 of 36
Life — May 24, 1929 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire** — it's a straightforward automobile advertisement from Life magazine's advertising section. The page promotes Fisher Body, a General Motors subsidiary that manufactured car bodies for multiple GM brands (Cadillac, LaSalle, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Oakland, and Chevrolet). The accompanying photograph shows two figures (likely actors in a staged scenario) examining a car interior, meant to demonstrate the visual superiority of Fisher Body construction. The ad's argument is purely commercial: Fisher Body cars are worth "several hundred dollars more" due to superior construction, materials, upholstery, hardware, and glass quality. The text appeals to buyers' desire for comfort, pride, and value — arguing that since consumers spend considerable time in their cars, the body quality directly impacts their satisfaction. This represents typical early 20th-century automotive marketing emphasizing craftsmanship and materials as differentiators.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Rrhaps the biggest fact in the motor car business today is the startling difference revealed by stepping into a Fisher Body car + 7 and then into any other No specialist or expert or sales- man is needed to point out Fisher Body superiority — the greater richness and beauty and quality stand out so sharply and con- vineingly that all argument is ended. 9 This is one of the most important facts in motor car buy ing today because it has to dowith value—with what you get for CADILLAC ° LASALLE . OLDSMOBILE the purchase price. J You are bound to admit at once in your own mind—that in solidity of construction, in paneling, in the quality of the upholstery, in the hardware, in the interior fittings, in the clarity of the genuine plate the substan- glass, and in tially constructed roof—the Fisher Body car is x BUICK . VIRING PONTIAC GENERAL worth several hundred dollars more. § Keep this contrast— these points of superiority—in mind, Consider the many hours you spend in your car and how much of your ease and comfort and satisfaction and pride de- pends upon the body of your car—and you can come to only one conclusion. OAKLAND CHEVROLET MOTORS comicbooks.com