Life — August 2, 1929 — page 40: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a cigarette advertisement, not political satire. The image shows two polo players on horseback—one missing the ball (left), one successfully striking it (right)—illustrating the tagline's wordplay: "what a whale of a difference just a few seconds make" (top) and "what a whale of a difference just a few cents make" (bottom). The ad argues that Fatima cigarettes' modest price premium over competitors delivers superior "tobacco-goodness." The polo match metaphor suggests that small differences in timing or investment yield significant results in both sports and consumer products. This is straightforward product advertising using an aspirational, athletic context to appeal to male smokers of the era.