If you haven’t seen the viral Anthropologie rock video, are you even on the internet? (Is it possible I’m too online? That’s definitely up for debate.)
I’ll be the first to admit that I am an “Anthropologie Woman.” (If you haven’t read Anna Haines’s Substack on the topic, I’m urging you to go ahead and do that now.) But I also know its prices are absolutely ridiculous on most, if not all, of its decor — and yet, I still want everything it sells.
The coolest thing about Anthropologie, and possibly why I’m so OK with its exorbitant prices, is that the brand knows exactly what it’s doing. The employees are so self-aware that they’ve recently embraced becoming a meme, just in time for all the Instagram girlies’ fall reset.
It all started with a now-viral TikTok from Phoebe Adams. In the video, she’s unboxing a rock that she tells her partner, Dan, she bought from Anthropologie. In reality, the rock is just one she grabbed from outside. He has an admittedly valid crashout after learning she “spent” $150 on the rock.
In a follow-up video, the pair is in an Anthropologie store, where Adams pretends to be shocked that the Anthro rocks are back in stock. “It’s only $1,000,” she says in the video. By this point, it looks like Dan is about to pass out from the sheer ludicrousness of the situation. He says, “There’s no way this is real.”
Mashable Trend Report
Since Adams posted the original video, it’s gotten more than 11 million views. The trend has exploded, with hundreds of others pranking their partners (and their moms) with “unboxing” videos of their own Anthropologie rocks. Even Anthropologie itself has gotten in on the joke, making its own marketing videos in response to the meme and helping Adams pull off the prank in-store.
Anthropologie’s latest video shows a woman walking into the store and asking, “Excuse me, do you have the Anthropologie rocks?” The employee then shows her a collection of seemingly ordinary rocks, some of which are priced in the four-figure range. There’s even a little sign that says “50% off,” because of course there is.
The best part is how much exposure this prank has generated. Instead of being sore losers, Anthropologie capitalized on the joke and created a full-blown viral moment.
Of course, the whole thing works because it’s so believable. Anthropologie is known for selling quirky, bizarrely priced items (like this Iron Stag sculpture for $2,998 or this super-simple $488 “To Do” Wall Art that you could probably make on Canva), and “bougie wellness” has only gained momentum since Goop’s crystal fiasco (among others).
So no, you can’t actually buy a $1,000 rock from Anthropologie. But the fact that we all collectively shrugged and said, yeah, that tracks? That’s priceless.
