When was the Michelin Man introduced?

This is a suggestion driven Daily Doodle, and I found I had no real drive for it... pun intended.

The Michelin Man was first created by the imaginative Michelin brothers and the talented poster artist O'Galop, alias Marius Rossillion, and the Michelin Man was immediately a great success. The Michelin Man has evolved since his birth in 1898, becoming a modern, socially responsible icon - similar to the way Michelin, as a company, has evolved.

At the Lyon Universal Exhibition in 1894, the Michelin brothers noticed an evocatively-shaped pile of tires on their stand. Edward said to Andre: "Look, with arms, it would make a man." Andre Michelin would remember this moment a few years later.

In 1898, while looking at an advertising sketch for a brasserie drawn by O'Galop, Andre Michelin had an idea: why not replace the bearded giant raising his beer mug with a man made of a pile of tires and holding a cup filled with nails and broken glass. The Latin quotation from Horace, "Nunc est Bibendum" ("Now it is time to drink") proclaimed by the character was also reused by Michelin: "Cheers, the Michelin tire drinks up obstacles!" This slogan had been launched by Andre Michelin a few years prior to convince engineers of the benefits of tires.

The Michelin Man was made up of 26 tires and has even shared his tires with stranded motorists. He has been an astronaut, a stunt driver, a tire inspector and a dancer, doing everything with a helpful spirit, confidence and good humor that has helped define him for generations.