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Michelin Man
Bibendum (French pronunciation: [bibɛ̃dɔm]), commonly referred to in English as the Michelin Man or Michelin Tire Man, is the official mascot of the Michelin tire company. A humanoid figure consisting of stacked white tires, it was introduced at the Lyon Exhibition of 1894 where the Michelin brothers had a stand. He is one of the world's oldest trademarks still in active use. The slogan Nunc est bibendum ("Now is the time to drink") is taken from Horace's Odes (book I, ode xxxvii, line 1). He is also referred to as Bib or Bibelobis.
Michelin dominated the French tire industry for decades and remains a leading international tire manufacturer. Its famous guidebooks are widely used by travelers. Bibendum was depicted visually as a lord of industry, a master of all he surveyed, and a patriotic exponent of the French spirit. In the 1920s, Bibendum urged Frenchmen to adopt America's superior factory system, but to patriotically excel those factories' "inferior" products. As automobiles became available to the middle classes, the company's advertising followed suit, and its restaurant and hotel guides expanded to a broader range of price categories.
While attending the Universal and Colonial Exposition in Lyon in 1894, Édouard and André Michelin noticed a stack of tires that suggested to Édouard the figure of a man without arms. Four years later, André met French cartoonist Marius Rossillon, popularly known as O'Galop, who showed him a rejected image he had created for a Munich brewery — a large, regal figure holding a huge glass of beer and quoting Horace's phrase Nunc est bibendum ("Now is the time for drinking"). André immediately suggested replacing the man with a figure made from tires, and O'Galop adapted the earlier image into Michelin's symbol. Today, Bibendum is one of the world's most recognized trademarks, representing Michelin in over 170 countries. According to Michelin, a study showed that 90% of the world’s population could instantly recognize him.
The 1898 poster showed him offering the toast Nunc est bibendum to his scrawny Brand X competitors with a glass full of road hazards, with the title and tag C'est à dire : À votre santé. Le pneu Michelin boit l'obstacle ("That is to say: To your health. The Michelin tire absorbs (literally "drinks") the obstacle"; see illustration). The character's glass is filled with nails and broken glass, implying that Michelin tires will easily take on road hazards.
The company used this basic poster format for 15 years, adding its latest products to the table in front of the figure. It is unclear when the name "Bibendum" was adopted. At the latest, it was in 1908, when Michelin commissioned Curnonsky to write a newspaper column signed "Bibendum". In 1922, Michelin held a contest to name the character in the United States. The winning entry was "Old 1895", chosen for the year Michelin had introduced the world’s first pneumatic automobile tire, though judges noted that no submission fully met their approval and considered the search for a definitive name still unresolved.
Rubber tires were originally gray-white, or light or translucent beige. In 1912, they became black when carbon was added to them as a preservative and strengthener. The company changed Bibendum's colour to black as well,[citation needed] and featured him that way in several print ads. They decided to abandon the change, citing printing and aesthetic issues (not racial concerns, as is commonly believed).[citation needed]
The image of the plump tire-man is sometimes used to describe an obese person, or someone wearing comically bulky clothing (e.g. "How can I wrap up warm without looking like the Michelin Man?").
Bibendum's shape has changed over the years. O'Galop's logo was based on bicycle tires, wore pince-nez glasses with lanyard, and smoked a cigar. By the 1960s, Bibendum was shown running, often rolling a tire as well, and no longer smoked. In 1998, his 100th anniversary, a slimmed-down version of him (sans glasses) was adopted, reflecting the lower-profile, smaller tires of modern cars. An animated version of Bibendum has appeared in American television ads, with a pet puppy similar in appearance to him.
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Michelin Man
Bibendum (French pronunciation: [bibɛ̃dɔm]), commonly referred to in English as the Michelin Man or Michelin Tire Man, is the official mascot of the Michelin tire company. A humanoid figure consisting of stacked white tires, it was introduced at the Lyon Exhibition of 1894 where the Michelin brothers had a stand. He is one of the world's oldest trademarks still in active use. The slogan Nunc est bibendum ("Now is the time to drink") is taken from Horace's Odes (book I, ode xxxvii, line 1). He is also referred to as Bib or Bibelobis.
Michelin dominated the French tire industry for decades and remains a leading international tire manufacturer. Its famous guidebooks are widely used by travelers. Bibendum was depicted visually as a lord of industry, a master of all he surveyed, and a patriotic exponent of the French spirit. In the 1920s, Bibendum urged Frenchmen to adopt America's superior factory system, but to patriotically excel those factories' "inferior" products. As automobiles became available to the middle classes, the company's advertising followed suit, and its restaurant and hotel guides expanded to a broader range of price categories.
While attending the Universal and Colonial Exposition in Lyon in 1894, Édouard and André Michelin noticed a stack of tires that suggested to Édouard the figure of a man without arms. Four years later, André met French cartoonist Marius Rossillon, popularly known as O'Galop, who showed him a rejected image he had created for a Munich brewery — a large, regal figure holding a huge glass of beer and quoting Horace's phrase Nunc est bibendum ("Now is the time for drinking"). André immediately suggested replacing the man with a figure made from tires, and O'Galop adapted the earlier image into Michelin's symbol. Today, Bibendum is one of the world's most recognized trademarks, representing Michelin in over 170 countries. According to Michelin, a study showed that 90% of the world’s population could instantly recognize him.
The 1898 poster showed him offering the toast Nunc est bibendum to his scrawny Brand X competitors with a glass full of road hazards, with the title and tag C'est à dire : À votre santé. Le pneu Michelin boit l'obstacle ("That is to say: To your health. The Michelin tire absorbs (literally "drinks") the obstacle"; see illustration). The character's glass is filled with nails and broken glass, implying that Michelin tires will easily take on road hazards.
The company used this basic poster format for 15 years, adding its latest products to the table in front of the figure. It is unclear when the name "Bibendum" was adopted. At the latest, it was in 1908, when Michelin commissioned Curnonsky to write a newspaper column signed "Bibendum". In 1922, Michelin held a contest to name the character in the United States. The winning entry was "Old 1895", chosen for the year Michelin had introduced the world’s first pneumatic automobile tire, though judges noted that no submission fully met their approval and considered the search for a definitive name still unresolved.
Rubber tires were originally gray-white, or light or translucent beige. In 1912, they became black when carbon was added to them as a preservative and strengthener. The company changed Bibendum's colour to black as well,[citation needed] and featured him that way in several print ads. They decided to abandon the change, citing printing and aesthetic issues (not racial concerns, as is commonly believed).[citation needed]
The image of the plump tire-man is sometimes used to describe an obese person, or someone wearing comically bulky clothing (e.g. "How can I wrap up warm without looking like the Michelin Man?").
Bibendum's shape has changed over the years. O'Galop's logo was based on bicycle tires, wore pince-nez glasses with lanyard, and smoked a cigar. By the 1960s, Bibendum was shown running, often rolling a tire as well, and no longer smoked. In 1998, his 100th anniversary, a slimmed-down version of him (sans glasses) was adopted, reflecting the lower-profile, smaller tires of modern cars. An animated version of Bibendum has appeared in American television ads, with a pet puppy similar in appearance to him.
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