An early Bibendum Michelin poster for bicycle tyres
© AFP Pierre-Philippe Marcou

MADRID (AFP) - The exhibition shows some of the iconic pictures of the rubber-faced character, which has been the Michelin company's mascot since 1898 and has become a globally-recognised facet of its advertising ever since.

The cuddly creature with no shortage of spare tyre was created by Andre and Edouard Michelin with help from cartoonist O'Galop (a pseudonym of Marius Rossillon).

Early images were "very provocative," according to exhibition commissioner Jesus Villar.

A fine example was the 1905 advert where the Michelin Man appears, cigar to lips, in a French wrestling-style leopard loincloth, airkicking his way through town.

If anything, later years have seen the collection become less risque.

"Certain ideas would be inconceivable these days," says Villar, noting images which cast Michelin in the guise of a Christ-like figure at the Last Supper, raising a toast under the slogan: "nunc est bibendum" (time to drink) -- quoting the poet Horace.

The tagline adds: "The Michelin tyre soaks up obstacles."

In fact, in various parts of the world the character is known as Bibendum and "Nunc est bibendum" is the title of the exhibition, which has already attracted 150,000 visitors after going on show in nine cities prior to coming to Madrid.

A visitor looks at a Bibendum Michelin stained glass window
© AFP Pierre-Philippe Marcou

One might have thought that France, not Spain, would be the obvious place to start showing off the exhibition.

"It's because the Spanish are very Michelin," explains the director of the group's historical archives, Francois Grambert.

Michelin employs 9,000 people at various sites in Spain, including the Basque towns of Vitoria and Lasarte in the north of the country.

Villar notes that giant Michelin Man figures are dotted around motorways nationwide, in similar fashion to the equally famed Osborne black bulls to advertise sherry, which are a Spanish icon.

The exhibition will shortly set off on a tour of several European capitals and also visit the United States and Japan before being carefully housed at the company's archives at its base in the central French city of Clermont-Ferrand.

The collection, showing off 150 items -- many never seen before -- is a journey of almost a century of advertising through to 1970 and shows how Michelin, facing increasing competition from Dunlop, has adapted its wares to different target audiences.

A visitor looks at a sculpture of a relaxed looking Bibendum Michelin
© AFP Pierre-Philippe Marcou

In Spain, for example, the figure has appeared dressed as a bullfighter and carrying a guitar.

In the United States he suffered from the era of prohibition during the 1920s and early '30s.

That amuses Villar.

"Just imagine, a little guy named Bibendum, which is an invitation to drink!"

Just when the copywriters were thinking of finding another name for him in the States, Prohibition came to an end in 1933 to save them the trouble.

After negotiating the drinking controversy Bibendum/Michelin eventually gave up the cigars -- even before the anti-smoking lobby became fashionable.

"He stopped smoking in 1930", says Villar, indicating Michelin thinking rather ahead of its time.

The character, recognised in more than 170 countries, may no longer light up -- but Villa's eyes do as he offers a stream of anecdotes.

"Do you know why this guy made out of a stack of tyres is white and not black? Because in those days tyres made solely of rubber were covered in a white coating," he explains.

Metal samples of Michelin Man memorabilia, which were in vogue in the 1940s and 1950s, have been hard to track down in presentable condition for the exsition.

"They were used as training targets by hunters," according to Villar.

©AFP