Famous inventors and engineers have given us vulcanized rubber, inner tube and many more critical innovations in tire design. But none of those legend has witnessed as much as "Bibendum", the portly and always smiling "Michelin Man". This persona has been a privileged witness of all the technological breakthroughs in the tire industry since it's creation in 1898.
This rotund shaped mascot has been conceived by French cartoonist O'Galop in April 1898 after Édouard Michelin had told his brother André that the piles of tires of different sizes lining-up the entrance of their booth at the "Exposition universelle et coloniale de Lyon" looked almost human. The drawing of the circular shaped and round-eyed "Bonhomme Michelin" was used in a series of posters to promote the Michelin brand. The "Bonhomme" was drinking nails, bits of glass and other debris with the sentence : "Nunc est Bibendum" to advertise the toughness of those tires that were "Drinking the obstacles". The name became immediately associated with the cartoon character, "Bibendum" was born and has been associated with the Michelin brand ever since.
It was was a privileged witness when Michelin became the first manufacturer to install air-filled tires on cars at the beginning of the 20th Century. And Bibendum's silhouette even changed in 1923 when the company launched lower pressure tires that were wider but smaller in diameter. Our mascot sported bigger rings in fashion with the new tires.