The Facts on The Pet Rock that Made Millions
In April 1975, freelance copywriter Gary Dahl was out drinking with his buddies and listening to them complain about their pets. Since this was before the internet and smartphone age, he was forced to participate in the conversation but, there was a problem; Gary didn’t have a pet.
Instead, a stone-faced Gary told them he didn’t share the same sentiment they had about their pets because his pet was a rock. There’s no record of what his friend’s reactions were but I can only assume one of two things; either they thought it was the dumbest thing he’s ever said or, they were drunk enough to think it was a hilarious idea.
It didn’t matter though because, by the end of the year, Gary Dahl was a millionaire.
I cannot believe this is real
The Pet Rock
After the joke with his friends, Gary took the idea seriously and decided he could actually sell a pet rock. He knew no one would just buy any rock, especially with so many free ones laying around, so he had to dress it up.
First, he decided to use smooth pebbles from Rosarito Beach in Baja California, Mexico each costing him a measly penny. Next, he packaged the ‘pet’ like it was a real air-breathing animal by placing them in boxes with air holes.
Inside, he placed straw paper to make the rock as comfortable as possible during shipping. Finally, he added a 34-page joke instruction booklet that he wrote entitled “The Care and Training of Your Pet Rock”. This booklet was arguably the only thing in the box providing any real value.
You know it’s true
“The Care and Training of Your Pet Rock” was filled with jokes, puns, and never dropped the joke that the rock was a pet. There was a detailed section teaching you how to teach your rock commands like; stay, come (which required you to move toward your rock), and sit. Another section was for tricks including two of my favorites, playing dead:
Rocks enjoy this trick so much that often, when you're not even looking, they'll actually practice it on their own. It's not unusual to walk into a room and see a PET ROCK playing dead.
And Long Distance Attacks:
I wasn’t going to type that whole paragraph out.
For his first batch, Gary barely had to spend any money on manufacturing. The rocks cost a penny each, the straw was just shredded paper, and he printed the booklet by tacking it on another printing job for a client; effectively putting the cost on them.
The most expensive part of the whole thing was getting the boxes made and although he never disclosed how much it cost, the final price tag he would ask for his product was $3.95.
Turning a Rock into Gold
The Pet Rock debuted at a San Francisco gift show in August of that same year but it was Gary’s marketing that turned it into a hit. After going to New York to display the rock at another gift show, Gary made and sent several press releases including a picture of himself surrounded by the pet rocks.
Instead of thinking he was a psycho, Neiman Marcus placed an order for five hundred rocks. This actually happened. From there, Gary was off to the races. Newsweek as well as at least half of the papers in America ran stories on his novelty idea, making him a celebrity. He was soon on television appearing on “The Tonight Show” twice and giving multiple t.v. news interviews.
By October he claimed to be shipping ten thousand rocks a day with demand increasing for the holiday season. It was the perfect gag gift for the person you hated but had to get a gift for, AKA co-workers.
“Do you think Gary hates me?”
After subtracting costs, including payments for investors who jumped on the idea, Gary was making a bit more than a dollar on each sale. By the end of the year, he had sold around 1.5 million rocks making him a millionaire and making the beach-goers at Rosarito Beach ask, “Where the hell did all the rocks go?”
Things Get Rocky
By the end of the year, other companies were selling their own versions of the Pet Rock because, although Gary did trademark the name ‘Pet Rock’, you can’t copyright/trademark selling a rock in a box.
Gary definitely looks like he tried though
Gary saw his profits hit rock bottom, but he didn’t really mind as he had achieved his goal of raising enough money to purchase a bar in Los Gatos, California. By the start of 1976, Gary was out of the rock business, but his success kept him busy in other marketing ventures. He was approached by countless executives looking for the next ‘get rich quick’ scheme and for his insights on marketing.
Unfortunately for Gary, his next few ideas including a ‘Sand Breeding Kit’ didn’t take off and he dropped out of the toy business. To make matters worse, Gary had a rocky relationship with some of his Pet Rock investors and they sued him, believing he shorted them on the profits. A judge agreed and awarded them a six-figure amount.
Afterward, Gary chose to stay out of the limelight, telling the press that “a bunch of wackos” believed he owed them a living and threatened him with lawsuits. He was quoted as saying, “Sometimes I look back and wonder if my life wouldn’t have been simpler If I hadn’t done it”.
Luckily his popularity died down and Gary kept himself busy by operating his own agency where didn’t have to be the face of products. In 2000 he won the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest and in 2001 he published Advertising for Dummies.
In 2015 Gary Dahl passed away due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. As for the rock, you’ll still see them around, usually on the ground and pretty much anywhere else outside. But as for the Pet Rock, it sometimes goes back on sale in limited edition quantities on Amazon. As recently as this year (2022) the Pet Rock returned to the market after appearing in the film Minions: The Rise of Gru.
Maybe I’ll get one to celebrate the life of a man who took a joke a bit too far and made a few million…
THIRTY DOLLARS?! Rocks are still free outside right?
Quick Facts
In 2016 Nordstrom sold a rock in a leather pouch for $85.
Gary Dahl’s bar was named Carrie Nation’s after the infamous Caroline Nation who hated bars and was nicknamed the “Hatchet Granny” for her quirky habit of attacking taverns with a hatchet.
One of the accessories sold for Pet Rocks by other companies was college degrees including a Ph.D. costing $10
