History of Bic

Dating back to 1950, when Marcel BICH launched his famous BIC® CRISTAL ballpoint pen, in Clichy, France, BIC®’s logo was made up of the three letters « B I C » inside of a red parallelogram with rounded-off angles.

The BIC® Boy was created by well-known French graphic designer, Raymond Savignac. Born in Paris in 1907, Savignac gained notoriety as the creator of numerous French advertising campaigns, including a famous one done for L’Oréal in 1948. Later, he began working with BIC, and in 1952 designed the Company’s very first advertising campaign: “elle court, elle court, la Pointe BIC®” (it runs, it runs, the BIC® point).
In 1961, he developed an advertising campaign to promote BIC®’s new ballpoint pen with the ball made of tungsten carbide. Hoping to attract the attention of children, he designed a schoolboy with his head replaced by the pen’s ball and holding a pen behind his back.

The following year, the schoolboy design was placed in front of the letters « B I C », thus forming the final version of the BIC® logo. The partnership with Savignac lasted for over 20 years including as many as 16 advertising posters for BIC® products.

The BIC® logo is a registered trademark and has never been modified. The logo dates back to when the company made only ballpoint pens, but over time, has been used to brand the entire range of BIC® products – stationery products, lighters and shavers. © 2006 Bic