Life — May 23, 1930 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is a **Schrafft's chocolate and candy advertisement**, not political satire. The page shows gift boxes of confections arranged artfully. The small illustration at top depicts a man and woman in an office setting—likely meant to suggest a business or workplace context where Schrafft's candies serve as an appropriate gift. The ad's humor relies on gentle social commentary: it notes that giving Schrafft's chocolates and candies has become "almost a feminine fashion" to explain the "apologies" men must make. The underlying joke is that men have traditionally given women sweets as romantic gestures or peace offerings, positioning Schrafft's as the quality brand for such occasions. The copy emphasizes that Schrafft's products, once sold only in their own stores, are now available through dealers nationwide—a distribution expansion the advertiser presents as significant news.