The Michelin logo features a white figure made out of tires, usually referred to as the "Michelin Man" or "Bibendum".
Bibendum, commonly referred to in English as the Michelin Man or Michelin Tyre Man, is the official mascot of the Michelin tyre company. A humanoid figure consisting of stacked white tyres, the mascot was introduced at the Lyon Exhibition of 1894 where the Michelin brothers had a stand, and is one of the world's oldest trademarks. 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.
Founded: 1889
Founder: Édouard Michelin, André Michelin
Headquarters: Clermont-Ferrand, France
Official Site: www.michelin.com
Michelin is a French multinational tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world after Bridgestone and larger than both Goodyear and Continental. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the Kléber tyres company, Uniroyal-Goodrich Tire Company, SASCAR, Bookatable and Camso brands.
Learn More: Michelin Wiki
Who Designed the Michelin Logo?
O'Galop, pseudonym of Marius Rossillon (June 8, 1867 – January 2, 1946) was a French artist and cartoonist, best known for creating Bibendum, the Michelin Man. He created his first advertisement Michelin in 1898 and would continue creating posters for the company featuring the character until 1911.
The name of the plump tire-man has entered the language to describe someone obese or wearing comically bulky clothing. (e.g. "How can I wrap up warm without looking like the Michelin Man ?")
Today, Bibendum is one of the world's most recognised trademarks, representing Michelin in over 150 countries.
Why is the Michelin Man White?
Tires weren't colored black until 1912, thus, Bibendum is white. Prior to 1912, tires were either grey-white or had a light translucent beige hue. Carbon was subsequently added to the rubber formula as a preservative and a strengthener.
While attending the Universal and Colonial Exposition in Lyon in 1894, Édouard and André Michelin noticed a stack of tyres 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 — a large, regal figure holding a huge glass of beer and quoting Horace's phrase "Nunc est bibendum". André immediately suggested replacing the man with a figure made from tyres. Thus O'Galop transformed the earlier image into Michelin's symbol.
Bibendum's shape has changed over the years. O'Galop's logo was based on bicycle tyres, wore pince-nez glasses with lanyard, and smoked a cigar. By the 1980s, Bibendum was being shown running, and in 1998, his 100th anniversary, a slimmed-down version became the company's new logo. He had long since given up the cigar and pince-nez. The slimming of the logo reflected lower-profile, smaller tyres of modern cars. Bib even had a similar-looking puppy as a companion when the duo were CGI animated for recent American television advertisements.
Bridgestone Logo| Rank | Company | Country |
|---|---|---|
| #1 |  Volkswagen |
Germany |
| #2 |  Toyota |
Japan |
| #3 |  Stellantis |
Netherlands |
| #4 |  Mercedes-Benz Group |
Germany |
| #5 |  Ford Motor |
United States |
| Rank | Company | Country |
|---|---|---|
| #1 |  Michelin |
France |
| #2 | Bridgestone |
Japan |
| #3 |  Continental |
Germany |
| #4 |  Goodyear |
United States |
| #5 |  Sumitomo |
Japan |
