Bic Cristal's Slogans & Taglines

Bic Cristal traces its origins to 1944, when Marcel Bich and Édouard Buffard established a factory in Clichy, France, producing fountain pen parts. In December 1950, Bich launched the BIC Cristal ballpoint pen, adapting and improving László Bíró's design to create an affordable, high-quality writing instrument for everyone. The pen's transparent polystyrene barrel, hexagonal shape, and visible ink level made it instantly iconic. In 1953, Société BIC was formally created, and the brand expanded rapidly across Europe and into the United States by 1958. In 2001, the BIC Cristal was added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, and by 2006 the company had sold its 100 billionth pen.

The brand's core product is the disposable ballpoint pen, engineered to write approximately 2 kilometres of ink. Its portfolio has expanded to include multi-colour pens, mechanical pencils, and stationery accessories, all built on the same principles of simplicity, reliability, and accessible design.

From its earliest French campaign "Elle court, elle court, la pointe Bic" in 1952, the brand evolved to embrace the enduring promise "Writes first time, every time" for international markets. This journey reflects a shift from a local novelty to the world's most ubiquitous writing instrument, symbolising democratic design and everyday innovation.