Life, 1929-06-07 · page 10 of 48
Life — June 7, 1929 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Kolster Radio advertisement**, not political satire. The illustration shows two women gossiping on a porch—a common social scene of the era. The ad's "porch gossip" framing is a marketing strategy: it claims that radio owners make purchasing decisions based on **word-of-mouth recommendations from neighbors** rather than manufacturer advertising alone. The key message is that Kolster Radio's reputation spreads through personal testimony ("sincere testimony, 'Yes, Kolster is a fine set'"). The ad encourages potential customers to ask current Kolster owners in their community about the product, suggesting this peer endorsement is more persuasive than traditional advertising. This reflects early radio marketing tactics relying on grassroots social proof rather than corporate claims.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Many a truth is told on porches about radio sets. -..and people learn more there about what's good and what’s not than by all the advertising ever written. There’s where decisions to pur- chase Kolster Radio are made, decisions based on neighborly counsel. pore Sw After all, it’s not to manufac- turers of radio that you should go for your facts, but to owners of radio. Ask any Kolster owner on your block or any block. Listen in to radio owners’ gossip in any town, any suburb, any city and in farming communities, too, and you will soon hear the h gossip? sincere testimony, “ Yes, Kolster is a fine set.” What are you going to do about better radio in your home? Let any Kolster owner help you decide. Enjoy the Kolster Program every Wednesday evening at 10 P.M., East- ern Daylight Saving Time, over the nation-wide Columbia Chain. KOLS TER RADIO Copyright by Kelster Radio Corporation, 1929 comicbooks.com