Bibendum

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Michelin logo with bib
Michelin man with cigar
Bibendum poster from 1898
Bibendum 2004

The Michelin Man , officially called Bibendum or Bib for short , is the advertising figure of the French tire manufacturer Michelin .

history

At the world exhibition in Lyon in 1894 , the company's founder, Édouard Michelin , noticed a stack of car tires of various sizes that were packed in white fabric covers. He pointed out to his brother André : “If he had arms, he would almost look like a person.” Then he remembered a poster that showed a fat Bavarian with a liter of beer and the Latin saying “ Nunc est bibendum !” - German  "Now let's drink!"  - showed.

The brothers then had a poster designed with a tire man who lifts up a bowl filled with broken glass and nails, with the inscription: “Nunc est bibendum !! .. C'est-à-dire: À votre santé! Le pneu Michelin boit l'obstacle !. ” - German: “Nunc est bibendum! That means: To your health! The Michelin tire swallows the obstacle! "

Bibendum initially consisted of 40 white tires, later it thinned to 26. On the first posters Bib could still be seen with a cigar, which was later removed due to increased non-smoking campaigns.

Bib gourmand

In the Michelin Guide , Bibendum is a symbol of the “ Bib Gourmand ” critique , awarded to restaurants that offer “carefully prepared and inexpensive meals”.

Trivia

  • Two Michelin men play in the animated short film Logorama from 2009.
  • The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from the movie Ghostbusters - Ghostbusters by 1984, according to actor Dan Aykroyd the Michelin Man and the Doughboy, the mascot of the company Pillsbury modeled.
  • Bibendum dolls can often be found on / in trucks.

See also

Web links

Commons : Bibendum  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Jason Matloff: An Oral History of Ghostbusters. In: Esquire, February 24, 2014, accessed January 31, 2018.
  2. Michelin Tire Baby Syndrome. In: medonline. December 5, 2015, accessed on December 23, 2019 (German).