![In an 1898 poster, Bibendum, the Michelin Man, raises a glass filled with broken glass and other road obstacles. The text reads, "Now is the time to drink!! Which is to say: 'To your health, the Michelin tire drinks down the obstacle[s]!'" (Image via Wikicommons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin_Man#/media/File:Michelin_Poster_1898.jpg)](https://www.bradycarlson.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/20250703michelinman.jpg)
This is National Tire Safety Week, and today we’re talking about a character made of tires, one of the most famous mascots in advertising history, and one who was originally kind of a hot mess.
This is the story of the Michelin Man, who is pretty benign today.
The large white dude made of tires has become, as the company’s website describes him, “a sort of guardian angel watching over the driver and his truck.”
He’s come a long way.
The Michelin Man has always been made of tires; the Michelin brothers were looking at some piles of tires and one said to the other, if you gave those arms they’d look kind of like men.
Several years later, André Michelin met French cartoonist and artist Marius Rossillon, who showed the tire magnate a character he’d drawn.
It was a bearded guy holding up a glass of beer, with a Latin slogan “Nunc est Bibendum,” or “It’s time to drink.”
The two reworked the concept so that the man was made of tires – though they looked more like bike tires than ones for cars – and they replaced the beer in his cup with road hazards like glass and nails.
So began the life of Bibendum, which is the Michelin Man’s actual name.
The company added another slogan, which explained that Michelin tires drank up obstacles in the road!
It was a little unnerving to see a mascot vowing to chomp down on the stuff that might puncture your car’s tires, but the ad campaign got even wilder.
Sometimes you’d see Bibendum wearing a monocle, smoking a cigar, fighting as a Roman gladiator or letting people pull tires out of his midsection!
Somehow none of this scared customers off; the Michelin Man became a popular character, no matter how much the other tiremakers tired of him.
In the 20th Century he ditched the cigars and bad habits and took on a more cuddly, family-friendly image.
That’s when truck drivers started putting little Michelin Man figures to the roofs of their vehicles,
I’d have to think nearly all of those are the more modern version of the character.
Putting a cigar-smoking, part-time gladitorial mummy on your truck might actually cause problems on the roads.
Starting today in Pittsburgh, it’s the World Beard and Moustache Championships.
There are more than a half dozen competitions for mustaches, including freestyle, plus full beards, goatees, sideburns, and cheekbeards.
And for those who can’t grow their own, craft categories like “creative moustache” and “realistic freestyle beard.”
Plus there’s live entertainment and fireworks for everybody.
Michelin Man: The Inside Story (CNN)
2025 World Beard and Moustache Championships
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Image via Wikicommons