The toy market has seen absurd things… A lot, from Furbys to Tamagotchis, but in 1975 something happened that marked the history of generations of children in the country. A rather absurd idea turned into a movement that ended up making its creator a millionaire. The true who wouldn’t want to.
It was Pet Rocks, and although the name sounds really cool, they were simple stones sold as if they were pets! Yes, and do you know why they sold them? Because people bought them! The idea was by Gary Dahl, an advertising copywriter from California, and he managed to sell more than five million units in just a few months!
Pet Rocks were great, they didn’t need food, walks, or care. They came in a cardboard box with ventilation holes and a bed of straw, simulating the carrier of a real animal. The final touch was an instruction manual that explained how to train the rock to “sit,” “stay,” or “play dead”…
An absurd idea… And brilliant
Dahl had this occurrence during a chat with his friends in a bar. They were talking about how expensive it was to have pets and he jokingly proposed the perfect pet: a rock. What began as a joke became a real business when he decided to package them and launch them on the market!
The public responded with the same enthusiasm, in a few months, stores were filled with boxes of rocks, one of the best-selling products of Christmas 1975! Each rock cost $3.95, and in a matter of weeks Dahl went from living like anyone to driving a Mercedes Benz!
A cultural symbol of the 70s
Pet Rocks reflected the irreverent humor and the free spirit of the 70s, for some, they were a satire of consumerism, because they were a worthless object that, thanks to marketing, turned into a product of massive desire.
Dahl himself admitted that what he had sold were not stones, but a dose of humor packaged! The press interviewed him, children exchanged their rocks in schools and the phenomenon was recorded as one of the great examples of ingenuity in American culture.
The decline and other failed attempts
Like every passing fad, Pet Rocks were forgotten as quickly as they had appeared. After the holiday season, interest fell and Dahl tried to replicate the success with other of his inventions, such as a kit to “raise sand” or acrylic cubes with soil imported from China, but none reached the same impact, Pet Rocks had been something different.
A strange but indelible legacy
Gary Dahl died in 2015, at 78, with mixed feelings about his creation. Although Pet Rock made him a millionaire, it also pigeonholed him as the creator of just one thing, and he had to endure some investors chasing him with very crazy proposals.
Even so, his occurrence showed that marketing and creativity can transform the most ordinary thing in the world into a global phenomenon! Today, Pet Rocks are still remembered as an example of how an absurd idea can turn into a million-dollar business and leave a mark on culture and in the memory of many generations!
The brilliance of the absurd
Creativity and marketing, it was the perfect combination. What began as a joke in a bar turned into a phenomenon that generated millions of dollars and became a symbol of an era.
Beyond the criticism or its short life in the market, Gary Dahl’s invention remains an example of ingenuity and knowing how to take advantage of opportunities with a pinch of humor! Tell me, have your Pet Rocks eaten today?