Michelin to Produce Durable Airless Tire in Future

The jolly character has lots of reasons to smile after all, after recently winning the distinction of the "Best Logo of the Century" in 2000, after a study by an expert panel

With everything seemingly going for the brand right now, Michelin is the tire company to beat. (Photo: Michelin Canada)

commissioned by the Financial Times. The roly-poly character was introduced only a decade after Dunlop "perfected" the inflatable tire, in 1898, today being one of the world's oldest trademarks. The Michelin Man is once again up for another award, in the "2004 Favorite Icon Poll," which is part of the American Association of Advertising Agencies' inaugural Advertising Week, being held this week in New York City. Unfortunately the Bibendum didn't fare as well in the U.S. as it did previously on a global scale - the brand is recognized in over 170 countries after all - not even rating in the top five. See the results at http://promotions.yahoo.com/advertisingweek_2004.

How did the blimpie-white cartoon character come about? As the story goes, Andr Michelin, one of the tire company's founders, was said to have commissioned the creation of the rotund caricature after his brother, Douard, mentioned that a display of stacked tires resembled a human form. Nicknamed Bibendum, from the Latin adage Nunc est Bibendum, for "now we must drink it," an odd early 20th century slogan the brothers came up with to loosely infer that Michelin tires were so smooth they would "drink" the road. Only the French could associate tires and wine.

Now, with one of the world's most loved mascots, America's highest satisfaction rating and its upcoming airless technology, Michelin is the tire company to beat. Now, if the brand could only win on a consistent basis in Formula One, where Bridgestone and Ferrari are dominant, Michelin's engineers could sleep at night.