In April 1975, ad copywriter Gary Dahl was in a Los Gatos bar listening to friends complain about their pets. He joked that a rock would be the perfect pet: no food, no walks, no mess.
Then he actually did it. He bought smooth Mexican beach stones for about a penny each, tucked them into cardboard carriers with air holes and bedding, and wrote a deadpan care-and-training manual to go with them.
He debuted the Pet Rock at a San Francisco gift show that August. Stores ordered, Newsweek covered it, and Dahl appeared on The Tonight Show. By late October, about 10,000 were selling a day at $3.95 each, and more than a million had sold by Christmas. Dahl estimated he sold 1.5 million.
The rock cost almost nothing. The box and the joke were the product. The fad fizzled within months, but Dahl was a millionaire. Meanwhile, it's been reintroduced as a gag gift and it's stil available. Click on the picture above to see for yourself...
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When the power goes out you can still
charge your phone super fast.
And it's also a flashlight.
Marked down today to only $ 18.99...
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yeah. I remember this "thing" . I remember one guy in the barracks had one. I couldn't believe it. but there it was.
ReplyDeleteand I clicked on the picture. 29.95 for a "real" pet rock ? and yeah. that guy was smart enough to sell it at a price that most folks wouldn't think twice as buying it as a gift
My favorite was the "Super-Stud" Pet Rock, that came with a complete guide on stone anatomy, reproduction, mating habits, and how to set "the mood" (most prefer Rachmaninov to Hard Rock).Alas, mine escaped while I was stationed in Turkey, and is no doubt cross-breeding his way throughout Cappadocia!
ReplyDelete