Yesterday I wrote about marketing legend Joe Sugarman and his trailblazing JS&A Catalogue.
It introduced to Americans, among other things, the world’s first pocket calculator.
In 1979, JS&A advertised “a new concept in sound technology” that “may revolutionize the way we listen to stereo music.”
That wasn’t hype. People who used the device loved it.
And then, a couple of months after the launch of the Bone Fone, Sony introduced the first Walkman.
Bye bye Bone Fone.
By the way, here’s a video of the Joseph Sugarman, singing my praises.
Oh, hey — You’ve got just a few more days to download the $249, 5-hour audio package I produced. For free.
Really.
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I heard there is still a warehouse of Bone Fones and it is still possible to order a new one. Do you think that is true?
@Anonymous: I will ask Joe Sugarman and report back to you here….
Saw your blog and found it interesting. There are maybe two samples left–all the Bone Fones have been sold and they are now a collector’s item. It was a hot selling product until the Walkman was introduced by Sony. At first the name was the Sony Soundabout and within a year it was changed to Walkman. We were stuck with 20,000 Bone Fones and managed through the following few years to sell all of them albeit at a discount.
I loved the Bone Fone and used one for several years. I remember you could buy additional covers. You may remember my father, Martin Sheridan. There was a contest: “Why I love my Bone Fone” and my response was one of three used for an ad. I have the article somewhere. Say “hi” to Wendy and April for me.