During the Lyon Universal Exhibition of 1894, the Michelin brothers noticed a pile of tyres on their exhibition stand. Édouard Michelin was amazed and said to his brother André Michelin, “Look, with arms it would make a man.” this would be a memorable day for André Michelin
After 4 years, when looking at an advertising sketch for a brasserie drawn by the artist O’Galop, André Michelin had an idea: why not replace the bearded giant raising his beer mug with a man made of a pile of tyres and holding a cup filled with nails and broken glass. The latin quote by Horace, “Nunc est Bibendum” which means now it is time to drink declared by the character was also reused by Michelin brothers.
this advert was used for years to convince the engineers then who are using iron and other materials for wheels that a rubber tyre is best
After 4 years, when looking at an advertising sketch for a brasserie drawn by the artist O’Galop, André Michelin had an idea: why not replace the bearded giant raising his beer mug with a man made of a pile of tyres and holding a cup filled with nails and broken glass. The latin quote by Horace, “Nunc est Bibendum” which means now it is time to drink declared by the character was also reused by Michelin brothers.
this advert was used for years to convince the engineers then who are using iron and other materials for wheels that a rubber tyre is best
soon the Michelin Man was born and he began to play a major role for the tyre company: it was he who presented the products and advised and assisted motorists, becoming the brand’s worldwide ambassador.
In 1905, Michelin opened a sales office in London. A knight costume was added to The Michelin Man, so he changed into a knight to conquer this new territory, wearing a helmet and carrying a shield. For his coat of arms, the spectacles, the cup, a cigar, and the cross-section of a tyre with a nail incapable of puncturing it. a line from Tennyson was adapted to promote this tyres, “My strength is as the strength of ten, because my rubber is pure.”
By 1907 the Michelin Man crossed the ocean to set up a factory in Milltown, New Jersey. The advertising became more educational: the Michelin Man was depicted as a giant accompanying and advising travellers by explaining the advantages of tyres.
From 1907 to 1915, the Agenzia dei Italia Pneumatici Michelin published a monthly review sent to its customers by post. It copied the fun but educational format of the “Michelin Mondays”(another article) in France. But care was taken with the front cover, which naturally involved the Michelin Man. The Italians turned the character into even more of a hero than he was in France. On this cover the Michelin Man is a sort of diplomat idolised by women.
By 1914, Michelin adopted styles from many artist, but being guided by the normal michelin man packed tyres shape smoking a cigar and wearing spectacles representing the customer of those times.
In 1922, North African Michelin man by Roger Brooders, shows michelin man as a mascot dressed in bedoiun adopting the local costume of that side as of that time also wearing babouches and djellabas
From the 1930s onwards, Michelin made increasingly less use of outside artists. As a result, images of the Michelin Man became more standard, although there were country-specific variants. Adapting to the evolution of tyres, his rings became thicker and the character dropped his wealthy image to move closer to a broader customer base until what we see today.
No comments:
Post a Comment