Verdex
Verdex
31 March 2023, 23:28

Mr. Michelin: the story of the appearance of the man from the tires

Mr. Michelin: the story of the appearance of the man from the tires
Michelin, aka Bibendum, is a character from the French company Michelin, one of the largest tire manufacturers. A funny chubby creature that looks like the Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters celebrated its 125th anniversary. In 1894, Edouard and Andre Michelin visited the World Exhibition in Lyon, where one of the brothers saw a stack of tires resembling a human figure. This picture stuck in my memory so much that a few years later, in 1898, Eduard Michelin first proposed using the hero he invented in an advertising poster for a Munich brewery. On the poster hovering over Mr. Michelin was the inscription "Nunc est bibendum" ("Time to drink"), borrowed from Horace.
However, Bibendum eventually became associated with tires. His appearance changed several times, early versions of Mister Michelin wore pince-nez and smoked cigars. Special costumes were made for advertising campaigns, and for some time bicycle tires were used to portray the character. Over time, the size of Bibendum decreased, the glasses disappeared, he became more friendly and smiling.
Mr. Michelin has made numerous appearances in fiction and has become firmly entrenched in contemporary popular culture over the years. These old photographs can tell a little about how the image of Bibendum was formed.

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