Exactly. The Guides were successful because of the quality of their reportage and their maps. But it wasn’t just a promo for a tyre company, that’s the point. The idea was to get people covering more miles; it didn’t even matter if they weren’t using Michelin, it was a case of rising tide and boats.
Hence the “vaut le détour” and “vaut le voyage”; they were encouraging you to wear out your tyres faster, without it being a hard sell which would put off the suspicious French. It’s an object lesson in how to do it properly.
2 Likes
