Michelin Man

Bibendum[1], commonly referred to in English as the Michelin Man[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

Development

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[6] — a large, regal figure holding a huge glass of beer and quoting Horace's phrase Nunc est bibendum ("Now is the time for drinking").[7] 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.[8] According to Michelin, a study showed that 90% of the world’s population could instantly recognize him.[9]

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.

In popular culture

The "Bibendum chair" was designed by Eileen Gray in 1925.[18]

Cayce Pollard, the main character of William Gibson's novel Pattern Recognition, has a strong aversion to corporate brands and logos. The sight of Bibendum in particular gives her panic attacks.[19]

Bibendum made a brief guest appearance in the Asterix series, as the chariot-wheel dealer in certain translations, including the English one, of Asterix in Switzerland. (The original French version used the Gaulish warrior mascot of French service-station company Antar.)

The mascot appears in a BBC Not the Nine O'Clock News comedy sketch, in which a restaurant waiter and chef suspect a diner, dressed as Bibendum, might be a food critic for the Michelin Guide.[20]

Millet winter jackets

During the mid-eighties, people wearing colorful shiny Nylon winter jackets from Millet felt as if they were imitators of the figurine Bibendum. This phenomenon was very noticeable in Belgium.

External links

• Bibimage.com, Unofficial site dedicated to Bibendum.