The Michelin Man, the brand icon of Michelin Tires, was once an overweight, cigar-smoking beer drinker. The 115-year-old character is one of the world’s oldest trademarks, and also one of its ...

But early photographs of Bibendum, as the Michelin Man is also called, are nothing short of terrifying. Bibendum was conceived by Edouard and André Michelin, the brothers who founded the company.

Getty Images. That first ad in 1898 showing the Michelin Man ... But that’s just scratching the surface of how weird the Michelin Man’s early years really were.