Life, 1929-08-16 · page 31 of 36
Life — August 16, 1929 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **cigarette advertisement**, not satire—though modern readers will find it jaw-droppingly misleading by today's standards. The ad promotes Lucky Strike cigarettes using pseudo-scientific claims: that a special "toasting process" makes them less irritating than competitors, citing "20,679 physicians" (a suspiciously precise figure). It includes a fake audit stamp from accounting firms to appear credible. The slogan **"Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet"** targets women concerned about weight—a marketing innovation positioning cigarettes as diet aids. This was part of Lucky Strike's famous 1920s campaign to expand female smoking by reframing cigarettes as slimming alternatives to candy. The page also advertises the Lucky Strike Dance Orchestra radio program, common sponsorship practice. By modern standards, every health claim here is false or deceptive. This represents pre-FDA regulation advertising when tobacco companies made unsubstantiated medical claims freely.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life Nut-Sweet Flavor It takes three years to produce Lucky Strike’s flavor. This unrivaled cigarette is a blend of finest tobaccos from each of three consecutive growths—the cream of the crop. Then comes the secret toasting process which in the opinion of 20,679% physicians, makes Strike less irritating than other cigarettes. This exclusive heat treatment also P 's the tobacco and adds a touch of nut-sweet flavor—appetizing, delicious, different —the earmark of one of the world’s most popular products. The figures quoted have been checked (SIGNED) and certified to by LYBRAND, ROSS BROS. AND MONTGOMERY, Ac- countants and Auditors, Vresident, eo I t's toas te d" The American Tobacco Company, Incorporated No Throat Irritation- The Ameren SSS ee ‘obscco Co., No Cough. Manufacturers The Lucky Strike Dance Orchestra will continue every Saturday night in a coast to coast radio hook-up over the N. B.C. network. ‘To maintain a slender figure, no one can deny the truth of the advice : “REACH FOR A LUCKY INSTEAD OFASWEET™ comicbooks.com