The Michelin(R) Man on the Campaign Trail in 2004

NEW YORK, Aug. 3, 2004 -- He is the most experienced candidate in the field, an award-winning legend and a favorite of motorists for more than 105 years. Now, the Michelin(R) Man wants your vote as he campaigns to become one of consumers' favorite icons!

Born in 1898, the Michelin Man (named Bibendum in other parts of the world) is renowned as the face of Michelin throughout the world. The popular tire icon has now been nominated in the 2004 Favorite Icon Poll for Advertising Week in New York City.

Bibendum will do battle with 25 other brand icons including the Energizer Bunny, Tony the Tiger, Ronald McDonald and the AFLAC duck.

The Michelin Man has strong credentials for the Favorite Icon award, having already been voted as the "Best Logo of the Century" in 2000 by a panel of advertising experts in a competition organized by the Financial Times.

Advertising Week in New York City was created by the American Association of Advertising Agencies to recognize the contributions of advertising to the economy. In the lead up to the election showdown, the Michelin Man and other nominated icons will officially launch their campaigns at Grand Central Terminal in New York on Aug. 5, 2004.

Advertising Week in New York City will be staged from September 20-24. But voting has already begun for both the favorite icon and favorite slogan awards. Votes can be cast on-line until Sept. 3, 2004, for both competitions at http://promotions.yahoo.com/advertisingweek_2004/static/iconpoll.html

The Michelin Man is an international icon who is represented in 170 countries around the world. He has been a popular figure with U.S. television viewers in recent years thanks to a series of starring roles in Michelin's commercials.

He was a stunt driver behind the wheel of a car that could not hydroplane because of its Michelin(R) HydroEdge(TM) tires. He safely navigated some terrible conditions on Michelin(R) LTX tires while he searched for his lost dog and starred as an ultra-high performance test driver in the latest campaign for the new Michelin(R) Pilot(R) Sport PS2(TM) performance tire.

Made from tires, the Michelin Man has undergone some subtle and some not- so-subtle changes over his 100-year history.

But how did the Michelin Man "come to life?" During a trade show in Lyon, France in 1894, Edouard and Andre Michelin noticed how a stack of their tires resembled a rotund, jolly man.

Sometime later, in 1898, Andre enlisted O'Gallop, a well-known illustrator to bring the tire-man character to life in a now famous poster.

In it, the Michelin Man quotes the Latin poet Horace, saying "Nunc est Bibendum", or "Now is the time to drink", and the tagline "The Michelin tire drinks up obstacles."

Michelin manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and the space shuttle. The company also publishes travel guides, maps and atlases covering Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (http://www.michelinman.com/ ) employs 23,920 and operates 21 plants in 17 locations.