My private photo album.
A birthday without presents? No way. You are the first to receive the exclusive shiny BIC® Clic® ball pen. Have fun working, doodling, writing and being creative with it.
In 2016 I'm celebrating my :
Birthday! My life has been an amazing journey and today I want to share my favorite moments, achievements and memories with you. Enjoy my photo album, meet my fans and discover what happened in these 60 incredible years. 3
Marcel Bich in the 50’s, Clichy Factory, France
© PixPlanete
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xPlanete
1956 "My birthplace, With my dad."
Marcel Bich, founder of the BIC Company, was born in Turin, Italy on July 29, 1914. In 1944 with his business partner Edouard Buffard, he bought an empty factory in Clichy, near Paris and there, started to manufacture parts for writing instruments. He then discovered the huge potential of the ball pen and in December 1950, launched his own model, BIC® Cristal®, the first high quality and affordable ball pen. It quickly became a success and the BIC® range extended with other models such as BIC® Clic® in 1956. Thanks to its easy-to-use design and smooth writing, it became another iconic BIC® product. 5
From 1956 to 1960, I was introduced in France, Benelux, South Africa, New Zealand and Scandinavia. In these countries BIC® Clic® is still one of the most popular pens used to this day.
1957 “Going on a trip around the world.”
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D. Brun
J. Effel
Donald Brun, Jean Effel and Raymond Savignac are advertising experts and artists that created advertising posters, mandated by BIC. These posters were everywhere: down the street, on the newspapers, in the cinemas, and even on ink blotters. They contributed largely to BIC® Clic® awareness.
1958 “I still love my fifties posters.”
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R. Savignac P. Couronne
P. Couronne
“I forgot I made so many posters in the fifties, so here are some more..�
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Do you remember doing this? I do. Everyone that used cassettes remembers that BIC® pens were often used to rewind or fix them. This technique was known all over the world, until the cassette was replaced by the CD.
1963 “The first cassette player is made. The cassette and I will stay friends for a long time.”
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BIC has always been a big advertiser in newspapers. Even today it remains a very strong medium and extremely relevant for BIC. Why? Newspapers are perfect to doodle and sketch on.
1964 “Me, advertised in a New Zealand newspaper.�
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BIC is a historical partner of the Tour de France. Between 1967 and 1974, BIC sponsored a professional cycling team. For sure, BIC® Clic® was used for autographs by these famous cyclists coming from various European countries.
1968 “I love riding a BICycle.”
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BIC® 4 Colours® pen is launched and ready to conquer the world. It has a unique little white ball at the top, representing the famous ‘BIC boy’ head; with 4 colours in one pen, it is convenient to use.
1970 “Me, meeting my little brother.”
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Having a penpal was a big thing in the seventies. All over the world, people of all ages were writing each other. Many of them used BIC® Clic® to stay in touch, send chain letters or write endless love letters.
1973 “Writing a penpal in New Zealand/ France/ South Africa/Belgium/...”
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1977 “I’m a pen I’m also a sound.”
BIC® Clic® has been around for over 21 years now. People use it everyday and it has become a must-have in every household. One of its most famous features? The sound. When is the last time you heard the click of a BIC® Clic®? 23
1980 “The BIC® things in life cost so little.”
This is the catchphrase that was used in New Zealand in the 80’s and early 90’s. During that time, Howard M. was the main spokesman for BIC® products, including BIC® Clic®. He was a famous entertainer in New Zealand and appeared in many television commercials for BIC®. He once said “Thank God for the BIC® ads.” for keeping him in the public eye.
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I am known to be used a lot by waiters and waitresses. Why? Being a ‘one piece’ pen makes me a lot more convenient. Just a simple ‘clic’ and I’m ready to start taking orders. But don’t forget to tip the waiter!
1983 “I am popular with waiters, did you know that?”
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rit i
length: more than 1,700 m ng
W
Upper Barrel made in polystyrene Clip and barrel resistance Translucent section Made in polystyrene, known to be robust.
Tungsten carbide ball Highly resistant Textured design Easy to grip
Ultrasonic welding One-block pen No risk of pen disassembly Side push button Convenient to use
The iconic design of BIC® Clic® has never changed. The simplicity and functionality will make it last for another 60 years.
1986 “Wow, it’s my 30th birthday today. But I still look 20, or 10, or 1.”
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In 1989 Bungee Jumping was a popular extreme sport. Since BIC® Clic® likes extreme challenges, BIC decided to do a test. Bungeejumping while using BIC® Clic®. The test became a popular tv commercial in New Zealand. Maybe we should try a new extreme test for our 60th birthday? With drones and hoverboards?
1989 It’s me, doing a bungeeeeeeeeee!!!!! Aaaaaaaah!!!!
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© Lowe Troost
In Belgium, BIC® Clic® was advertised as an efficient handwriting machine. The automatic typewriters were really popular, but today BIC® Clic® has proven to be the long lasting writing machine.
1991 “I am a handwriting machine.”
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1993 “Do you speak Xhosa? I do.”
One of South Africa’s 11 official languages, Xhosa is famous because it sounds like the clicking of a ballpoint pen. A famous Xhosa songstress called Miriam adapted the click song and made it very popular. To this day, a lot of South Africans still remember this song. It sounds just like I do! Who was Miriam? In the 1960s she was the first artist from Africa to popularize African music in the U.S. and around the world. She recorded and toured with many popular artists. The click song appeared on her first 1960’s album. 35
1997 “Meet John T. the man who has over 54.000 versions of me.”
John T. from New Zealand has approximately 54.000 BIC® Clic® pens. He keeps them in a shed at his home in Mt Maunganui. He started collecting in 1997 and is still going.
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© Société BIC
2000 “Moving to a new home. In Marne-La-Vallée.”
BIC® Clic® is always manufactured by BIC and today in two BIC factories located in Marne-La-Vallée (France) and in Johannesburg (South Africa). BIC’s industrial tradition is a strong one, and today more than ever it goes hand in hand with the company’s drive to remain on the cutting edge for both production equipment and processes. 39
Š Giovanni Cittadini Cesi
The giant BIC® Clic® is featured in ‘Théâtre sans animaux’. A famous play created by Jean-Michel Ribes (Paris, France) in 2001, in Théâtre Tristan Bernard. Ever since, this play has been shown in different theaters, such as Théâtre du Rond-Point in 2013. In one of this series of eight sketches, the giant BIC® Clic® crashed through the ceiling of a family in the heart of rural France. This photo was taken in Théâtre du Rond-Point in Paris.
2001 “My biggest role, on stage.”
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Š Philippe Geluck
Philippe Geluck, a famous Belgian cartoonist drew BIC® Clic® in the comic strip Le Chat. The cartoon appeared on September 25, 2004. The quote he used became one of his top 20 quotes: “BIC produces pens, but also correction fluid. That’s like a weapon company producing bandaids.” He forgot to mention we also make surfboards and lighters and shavers and…
2004 “I love to laugh, especially with the cartoons of Philippe Geluck.”
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© Société BIC
For my 50th birthday BIC launched BIC® Clic® Ultra Color. The Blue ink pens got styled into 6 different fashion barrels.
2006 “Time to make the world more colorful and fashionable.”
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2009 “Ruben who played in the National Rugby League of New Zealand is a good friend of mine, almost as tough as me.�
BIC is a big rugby fan and cheers for the New Zealand All Blacks and the South African team. To show all my support to the team, I have even partnered with the All Blacks to wear their colors! 47
Š Designboom
2010 “I love it when people get creative with me.”
Dutch fashion designer Mattijs van Bergen has created a collection named ‘blanco’ for the autumn/winter of 09/10. Mattijs literally drew patterns on his canvas with BIC® Clic®, to tell the collection’s story, which gradually developed into intricate pleating details, constantly playing with optical illusion.
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As a company, BIC values ingenuity including advertising. Developed for Nordic countries, this ad illustrates perfectly consumers’ daily use of BIC® Clic® on newspaper such as doodles & sudoku. It won Creative Print Awards 2011 in Sweden voted not only by a jury but also by readers.
2011 “Me, winning an award for my ad in a Swedish newspaper.”
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Belgian artist Eric Lambé illustrated ‘The King’s son’, completely with blue and black BIC® Clic® ball pens. This book is composed of 30 plates which took him 6 years to finish. The album is wordless except one line of text in English, French and Japanese. The original drawings were exhibited in Galerie Martel, in Paris.
2012 “This book is a real eye-catcher.”
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© Société BIC
Since the 1950’s BIC has been designing ballpoint pens. The retractable BIC® Clic® has surpassed every decade with its timeless design. But there is more… Thanks to BIC’s self manufactured dyes, inks, balls and points, cartridges and plastic parts, BIC can guarantee great quality at an affordable price.
2013 “Behind the scenes of a BIC factory.”
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Danish artist Morten Løfberg creates hand drawn art, with the use of BIC® Clic® and BIC® Cristal® Large.
2014 “Have you seen Morten Løfberg Artwork on loфberg.dk?”
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This year I will be available in a shiny new look. A gold and silver design to celebrate my 60th birthday. PS: Did you know that, if a person is given a new pen, 95% will write their name as the first word?
2016 “Me in my new gold suit. Happy 60 to me!”
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© Olivier Lecomte, Société BIC
“ One BIC happy family.” ®
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illustrations and design: www.thisisfriendship.com
www.bicworld.com Enjoy this golden BIC® Clic® and celebrate my 60th birthday in style. Questions? Press contact: Albane de La Tour d’Artaise Email: albane.delatourdartaise@bicworld.com Phone: +33 1 45 19 51 51 2016