Case Studies

The Pet Rock

• • One famous example of how salesmanship can outweigh/outcompete even the best product designs is Gary Dahl's "Pet Rock":

    • Gary Dahl's Pet Rock is a product that was created and marketed in 1975 by advertising executive Gary Dahl.

      • It was a seemingly simple product, a smooth, polished rock that came packaged in a small cardboard box with air holes, and included a manual that provided "care and training" instructions for the rock.

    • Despite the fact that Pet Rock was just a common rock and had no real value to it, Dahl was able to sell over 1.5 million units within six months, due to his clever marketing and salesmanship.

    • He marketed the Pet Rock as a "low-maintenance pet" that could be taken anywhere and required no feeding or walking.

      • He also created a fictional history for the rocks, claiming they were a "rare" and "special" type of rock that had been hand-picked from a specific location.

    • Dahl's success with Pet Rocks illustrates how salesmanship and marketing can be more important than the product design itself.

      • He was able to create a demand for a product that had no real value by cleverly positioning it and creating a sense of nostalgia and rarity around it.

      • Pet Rock was not a great product design but it was a great sales and marketing campaign, which made it a successful product.

  • The initial success of the Pet Rock however quickly passed, as the product became discontinued in February 1976 due to lower sales