You may think this guy has an over-inflated ego, but if he does it's because he's one of the oldest and most widely recognized trademark figures IN THE WORLD! He's the Michelin Man, a.k.a. "Bibendum," or "Old Bib," the trucker's best friend.

The Michelin Man first tread the advertising road in 1898. The story goes that the brothers Michelin (Edouard and Andre) were attending a tire exhibition in Lyon, France, when they came across a display of tires stacked one on top of the other. Edouard's imagination got all pumped up, envisioning a man made completely of round rubber rings. They hired a prominent artist named O'Galup to paint their vision and voila! Le Michelin Man was born.

A few months later, Monsieur Michelin appeared in his first ad campaign, posing at a banquet table drinking a malotov cocktail of road hazards -- spikes, nails, glass, etc. -- from a champagne glass. The message being that Michelin was strong enough to "swallow" all kinds of tire terrors and still keep going strong. The caption said "Nunc est bibendum," a Latin phrase meaning "now is the time to drink."

The ad was a great success, but Bibendum wasn't "christened" until months later, when Thery, the famous race driver, was preparing for the Paris-Amsterdam race. As Andre Michelin passed, Thery shouted, "I say, there goes Bibendum!" And a legend was born.

The original Bibendum was made of narrow tires of the style of the late 1800's, very narrow and straight-edged. He also wore glasses and smoked a cigar. Today, his figure has changed to showcase Michelin's pioneering leadership and high standards of technological achievement. He is also a very active fellow, walking, jumping, running and even flying as he promotes Michelin products. His sight has returned to 20/20 and he's given up smoking. He still decorates Michelin's world-renowned tour guides and maps, as well as their tire products.

But he's also liked just for himself. European and Canadian truckers are so fond of him, in fact, that they put little "Bib" statues on the front of their cabs. Some of them even light up -- the statues, that is!