The "Pet Rock" was a novelty product created by advertising executive Gary Dahl in 1975. It became a cultural phenomenon … albeit somewhat briefly.
The idea was as simple as it was absurd. It was just a smooth stone, marketed as a low-maintenance pet. The rocks were collected from Rosarito Beach in Mexico and sold to people in a small, cardboard box designed to look like a pet carrier, complete with air holes, straw for bedding and some clever copywriting.
The idea was born of a casual conversation Dahl had with friends in a bar. They were discussing the hassle of caring for pets, and Dahl jokingly remarked that a rock would be the perfect pet. It required no feeding, walking, or grooming, and it wouldn't die, make a mess or misbehave. Maybe it was the alcohol, but his friends didn’t dismiss the idea out of hand. So Dahl, recognising the potential for this absurd idea to catch on, decided to turn the joke into a reality.
He was freelancing as a copywriter at the time [Ed: That’s French for out of work] … so it came very naturally to him to create a whole story around said rock. Each rock came with an instruction manual titled "The Care and Training of Your Pet Rock”. The manual included instructions on how to care for your rock, such as teaching it to “sit” or “stay” (which, of course, it was very good at doing).
The Pet Rock was an instant hit, capturing the public's imagination. It was released just before the Christmas season of 1975 and became a must-have gift. Dahl sold the rocks for US$3.95 each, and within six months, he had sold over 1.5 million units, making him an instant millionaire.
For a few frenzied months in 1975, many people became the proud if slightly embarrassed owners of Pet Rocks, a fad that Newsweek later called “one of the most ridiculously successful marketing schemes ever”.
While the Pet Rock fad faded quickly, it became an iconic example of the power of “clever” marketing and the absurdity of consumer culture in the 1970s. Although Dahl went on to have a successful career in advertising, e.g. he authored “Advertising for Dummies” in 2001, the Pet Rock remained what he is remembered for … and no doubt why he rated a New York Times obituary when he died in 2015.
In the decades since its birth, the Pet Rock has been periodically re-released and celebrated as a piece of American cultural nostalgia, e.g. “The Official Everything Everywhere All At Once Pet Rock™ includes one googly eye rock with paper nest and a care and training pamphlet. Rock size may vary.”
The Pet Rock phenomenon has inspired others (individuals and corporations) to shoot for the same WTF rags-to-riches result with their kooky absurdist ideas. Here are a few notable examples:
Tamagotchi たまごっち (virtual pets) released by Japanese company Bandai in 1996, became a global craze. Unlike a rock, Tamagotchis needed virtual care. The digital pet idea echoed the simplicity of the Pet Rock but with added technological engagement.
The USB Pet Rock (early 2000s) was directly inspired by the original Pet Rock. It didn’t perform any actual function. It was just a regular stone with a USB connector attached, sold as a “technological” pet for your computer.
The "Invisible Pet" (1970s) was sold as an empty box that claimed to contain an invisible pet.
Even prior to the Pet Rock phenomenon, entrepreneurs have sold “canned air” from various cities and countries (e.g. Paris, New York or the Swiss Alps) as novelty souvenirs.
Playing with the concept of absurd pet ownership, the Pet Cloud (1970s) was marketed as the ultimate zero-maintenance pet.
The legacy of the Pet Rock isn’t just in the humour or novelty, it’s in the idea that you can sometimes get lucky with the timing of a story and a narrative that resonates.
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References
wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Rock
nytimes.com/2015/04/01/us/gary-dahl-inventor-of-the-pet-rock-dies-at-78
rarehistoricalphotos.com/pet-rock-craze
Images
1. Gary Dahl in 1975 with the Pet Rock. Photo credit: United Press International
2 to 5. Pet Rock with packaging
6. Pet Rock coverage on NBC News, 13 December 1975
7. Video: Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) rock scene
8. The Official Everything Everywhere All At Once Pet Rock™
9. Tamagotchi, 1996
