I just watched the hit movie, “Project Hail Mary,” in which an astronaut on a mission to save the earth pals up with an alien he names “Rocky,” ‘cos the alien is an actual fucking rock whose rock girlfriend is called Adrian! True cinema buffs will get the connection, and hey…It’s science fiction. OK?
Anyway, moving on, it reminded me off a time back in the 70’s when I worked with a fellow copywriter at Chiat San Francisco by the name of Gary Dahl. In 1975 Gary “invented” the “Pet Rock,” one of the strangest—and most brilliant—novelty fads in modern history. It was literally just a smooth stone, sold as a “pet” in a small cardboard box with air holes and straw bedding. It came with a string leash and a humorous instruction manual teaching you how to “care” for it (spoiler: you don’t).
He bought the rocks for one cent each and sold the boxed “Pet Rock” for nearly five dollars. During the 1975 Christmas holiday season, it became a massive hit—selling over one million units in just a couple of months. Like most fads, it burned out quickly. By early 1976, the craze was basically over but Gary had made millions. Lucky bugger. The point of my latest screed is that we should never forget that before the Internet and the plethora of social media bullshit we are increasingly subjected to, it was possible to capture the attention of the unwashed masses and convince them to cough up their hard earned fag money. All it required was a good idea. And three Martini lunches!
Cheers George.
