Mightier Than the Sword (1953)
Baron Marcel Bich, who did for ballpoint pens what Henry Ford did for cars, was born in Turin, Italy, in 1914, the son of a French engineer, Baron Aime Mario Bich, who had inherited his title from his great-grandfather. The family moved to Spain and eventually settled in France; Marcel studied law at the University of Paris, and in World War II served in the French Air Force.
Pre-dating the Walmart reign, Marcel understood the alchemy of blending low cost with high volume. In the belief fountain pens were archaic, Marcel capitalized on the invention of László Bíró, a Hungarian Jew who had fled to Argentina to escape the Nazis occupation. Armed with a $1,000, Marcel bought a leaky shed in Clichy, a northern Paris suburb, and founded Société Bic. He dropped the ‘h’ in his surname as Bic was phonetically pleasing. The move was propitious as Bich, with its auditory association with a female dog, could have lent itself to double entendres: Can I borrow your bich? Does your bich come in other colors? Why did ya chew on my bich? 
The inexpensive tool proved irresistible catnip and the company opened branches in several countries that churned out billions of clear-barrel soldiers. In 1961, Raymond Savignac created the Bic boy logo who sported a ballpoint head and held an orange pen behind his back. Nine years later, the four-color pen debuted-in black, blue, red, and green; its French advertisement promised, “3 francs for 4 colors.” The version sported a little white ball to dial numbers on rotary phones. By 2005, the company that had built its fortune on disposability had sold its 100 billionth ballpoint; eighteen factories around the world churn out 7,000,000 daily. According to Bic Société, that is enough pens to cover forty times the distance from the earth to the moon, enough to fill the Arc de Triomphe twenty-three times.
With the world going bananas over Bic, in 1973, the corporation branched out to lighters that promised 3,000 uses before disposal. Television commercials showcased seductive women urging consumers to “Flick my Bic.” The empire built on disposability became the first brand to issue a one-piece razor. Having lived through the most devastating war in history, understanding man’s fallibility, the company purchased Wite-Out to correct inky errors. A marketing maven, Marcel’s only missteps was selling perfume in gas stations, producing disposal underwear.
In tribute, his adopted country made him a Knight of the French Legion of Honor. In 2001, the Bic Cristal pen entered the Museum of Modern Art in New York’s permanent collection.
From his home in suburban Neuilly sur-Seine, the extremely reclusive Baron lived with his first wife, Louise Chamussy, who died in 1950, and his second, Laurence Courier de Mere; he was the father of eleven children, eleven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Enjoying the fruits of Société Bic, Marcel was the owner of a gray Bentley, dressed in double-breasted suits and bright neckties, and generously purchased property for his family. With his many splendored fortune, Marcel lavished millions on his relentless pursuit of the America’s Cup. His 1970 challenge was the first from outside the English-speaking world; he suffered a humiliating defeat when he became lost on the fog off Newport, Rhode Island. Subsequently, he raced his 12-meter sloops France and France I, II, and III on an eleven-year, (fruitless) quest to obtain yachting’s most prestigious prize. The patron of the mass market, Marcel paved the way for everyman to write, shave, and access flame.
The genesis of Bic-from leaky shed to global conglomerate, proves the veracity of playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s quotation, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
Baron Marcel Bich, who did for ballpoint pens what Henry Ford did for cars, was born in Turin, Italy, in 1914, the son of a French engineer, Baron Aime Mario Bich, who had inherited his title from his great-grandfather. The family moved to Spain and eventually settled in France; Marcel studied law at the University of Paris, and in World War II served in the French Air Force.
Pre-dating the Walmart reign, Marcel understood the alchemy of blending low cost with high volume. In the belief fountain pens were archaic, Marcel capitalized on the invention of László Bíró, a Hungarian Jew who had fled to Argentina to escape the Nazis occupation. Armed with a $1,000, Marcel bought a leaky shed in Clichy, a northern Paris suburb, and founded Société Bic. He dropped the ‘h’ in his surname as Bic was phonetically pleasing. The move was propitious as Bich, with its auditory association with a female dog, could have lent itself to double entendres: Can I borrow your bich? Does your bich come in other colors? Why did ya chew on my bich?
The inexpensive tool proved irresistible catnip and the company opened branches in several countries that churned out billions of clear-barrel soldiers. In 1961, Raymond Savignac created the Bic boy logo who sported a ballpoint head and held an orange pen behind his back. Nine years later, the four-color pen debuted-in black, blue, red, and green; its French advertisement promised, “3 francs for 4 colors.” The version sported a little white ball to dial numbers on rotary phones. By 2005, the company that had built its fortune on disposability had sold its 100 billionth ballpoint; eighteen factories around the world churn out 7,000,000 daily. According to Bic Société, that is enough pens to cover forty times the distance from the earth to the moon, enough to fill the Arc de Triomphe twenty-three times.
With the world going bananas over Bic, in 1973, the corporation branched out to lighters that promised 3,000 uses before disposal. Television commercials showcased seductive women urging consumers to “Flick my Bic.” The empire built on disposability became the first brand to issue a one-piece razor. Having lived through the most devastating war in history, understanding man’s fallibility, the company purchased Wite-Out to correct inky errors. A marketing maven, Marcel’s only missteps was selling perfume in gas stations, producing disposal underwear.
In tribute, his adopted country made him a Knight of the French Legion of Honor. In 2001, the Bic Cristal pen entered the Museum of Modern Art in New York’s permanent collection.
From his home in suburban Neuilly sur-Seine, the extremely reclusive Baron lived with his first wife, Louise Chamussy, who died in 1950, and his second, Laurence Courier de Mere; he was the father of eleven children, eleven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Enjoying the fruits of Société Bic, Marcel was the owner of a gray Bentley, dressed in double-breasted suits and bright neckties, and generously purchased property for his family. With his many splendored fortune, Marcel lavished millions on his relentless pursuit of the America’s Cup. His 1970 challenge was the first from outside the English-speaking world; he suffered a humiliating defeat when he became lost on the fog off Newport, Rhode Island. Subsequently, he raced his 12-meter sloops France and France I, II, and III on an eleven-year, (fruitless) quest to obtain yachting’s most prestigious prize. The patron of the mass market, Marcel paved the way for everyman to write, shave, and access flame.
The genesis of Bic-from leaky shed to global conglomerate, proves the veracity of playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s quotation, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
