Life, 1929-01-18 · page 29 of 44
Life — January 18, 1929 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **cigarette advertisement**, not satire—though it reads absurdly to modern eyes. The "Life" magazine page features a testimonial attributed to "Felix Count Luckner," apparently a German military figure endorsing Lucky Strikes cigarettes. The ad's pitch is remarkable: it argues Americans should "reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet" for health reasons, positioning cigarettes as a weight-control aid rather than a health risk. The fictional narrative—a German raider captain finding 500 Lucky Strikes on a captured American ship and bonding with enemies over them—serves as propaganda disguised as adventure. The "No Throat Irritation—No Cough" claim exemplifies early tobacco marketing's false health assurances. By 1929 (copyright date), such ads were common before smoking's dangers were widely acknowledged or regulated. The endorsement weaponizes a supposed foreign authority figure to validate American tobacco consumption.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
it’s good. to smo Luckies: UCKICS. “Lucky Strikes? By Joe, yes. Let me tell you. I was cruising in my raider in the South Pacific. It had been damp, rainy weather and every bit of tobacco we had on the ship was mouldy and could not be smoked. We began to be desperate. The men were—what you call—grouchy. Along came an American ship. We captured her and after taking the captain, officers and crew aboard my raider and finding comfortable places for them to stay, I and my officers went over to the captured ship to see if there was anything aboard her that we wanted. We searched her. And what do you think? Under the cushions of a seat in the captain’s cabin we found 500 packages of Lucky Strikes! I tore off the end of one and lit it and filled my lungs with it, and By Joe, I was a man again. We had enough for all the crew and we were all cheered up and we all became friends once more. By Joe, I was sorry to sink that (American ship that had brought us those smokes. Lucky Strikes, they are wonderful, and my Countess, of course, wishes a fashionable, slender figure. She smokes Lucky Strikes when she is offered fattening sweets. And my life has always been an active one and I must be trim and fit. I love to feel what you Americans call ‘peppy.’ So no sweets for me. Give me a Lucky Strike instead. By Joe, it’s good for us to smoke Luckies,” A reasonable proportion of sugar in the diet is rec- ommended, but the authorities are overwhelming that too many fattening sweets are harmful and that too many such are eaten by the American people. So, for moderation’s sake, we say:— “REACH FOR A LUCKY INSTEAD OF A SWEET.” “It’s toasted” No Throat Irritation-No Cough. © 1929, The American Tobscco Co., Manufacturers comicbooks.com