Life — October 11, 1929 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Listerine Advertisement Analysis This is a **Listerine advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It promotes Listerine as an after-shaving product and antiseptic mouthwash. The ad features a man in an undershirt holding a bottle, smiling contentedly. The headline promises that Listerine "cools...after shaving...protects" and claims it "kills 200,000,000 germs in fifteen seconds." The copy emphasizes the product's soothing sensation post-shave and its antiseptic properties, targeting men concerned with both grooming comfort and hygiene. A sidebar promotes Listerine as an astringent for women. This reflects early-twentieth-century marketing that positioned antiseptics as cure-alls and heavily emphasized germ-killing—a common advertising strategy of that era before modern medical understanding.