ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
If you picked up gardening over the pandemic like I did, we're not alone. Google searches for the term houseplants hit an all-time high in 2020. And so many young people on the internet have become proud plant owners that some are even saying...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Dogs are the new children. Plants are the new pets.
SHAPIRO: But if you were around in the 1980s, you know this is not new. Plants have always been pets.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing) Cha-cha-cha chia.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Chia pets, the pottery that grows.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The Chia Pet was popularized by ad exec Joseph Pedott. The man behind that iconic marketing campaign died on June 22.
SHAPIRO: Originally from Chicago, Pedott's mother died when he was 13. He fled from his abusive father when he was 16 and lived at a YMCA. A Chicago nonprofit helped put him through college, and he went on to found his own advertising agency in California.
SUMMERS: In 1977, Pedott was at a housewares convention when he was introduced to the terracotta figures with chia seeds sprouting from them like fur.
SHAPIRO: He later told the University of Illinois, the first one I ever saw was very crude. It had scorch marks from the oven, and only three of its legs could touch the surface at once, but I liked it. Pedott bought the rights and inventory for $25,000.
SUMMERS: And you do not need us to tell you Pedott's marketing campaign, with its irresistible jingle, was a viral hit. In the years since, Chia Pets have shipped in a variety of shapes.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: And celebrate with country music great Willie Nelson Chia Pet...
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing) Cha-cha-cha chia.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: ...And your favorite painter, Bob Ross Chia Pet.
SHAPIRO: And artists online are making crazier and crazier Chia Pet-inspired art, like the Chia Pet car.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: I've always wanted a Chia Pet that was big enough to drive around, so I made this.
SHAPIRO: Throughout his life, Pedott remained grateful to the social services that supported him as a kid. And with his Chia earnings, he helped fund programs for low-income, first-generation college students. Joe Pedott was 91.
(SOUNDBITE OF TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB SONG, "SOMETHING GOOD CAN WORK") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
