Bib’s Global War Against Fuel Costs Gets Underway

Petrol pumps are evil, so thank goodness then that we have a white, rotund hero prepared to do battle against this malevolent force. This dramatic scene, part of Michelin’s new global advertising campaign, is now appearing on a larger than life scale on the sides of buildings in New York and Los Angeles. The giant posters portray, in Michelin’s words, the “Michelin Man fighting an evil gas pump and coming to the aid of motorists in trouble.” In doing so, the Michelin Man – Bibendum to his friends – demonstrates that ‘the right tyre can change everything’.

The largest of the billboard series can be found in Los Angeles. This particular advertisement is divided into three panels measuring an impressive 124 feet (37.80 metres) high and 45 feet (13.72 metres) wide. The US has been chosen as the initial market in which Michelin’s new advertising campaign in to be unrolled. Over time the advertisements will be launched in 55 countries – in Europe and Asia in early 2010, followed by Africa, the Middle East, India and South America.