Before Kevin Costner found a new wave of success with Yellowstone, he had an iconic flop with Waterworld. Before Waterworld, he had a hit with Dances with Wolves. But before he officially arrived in Hollywood, a 28-year-old Costner appeared in a commercial for one of Apple’s long-forgotten products.
For those unaware of the 68-year-old man your mom lusts over and your dad thinks emulates, Costner began appearing in released films around 1981. Early roles were small and non-memorable by today’s standards. Like so many other stars, he did some television commercials to make sure he had enough to provide for his family. This led to Apple coming knocking in 1983, and so he made his small screen debut in an ad for the Lisa personal computer system.
For those unaware, the Lisa (named for the daughter of Steve Jobs) was a device which went on the market in 1983. It was one of the first computers to use a graphical interface and was targeted towards the business community for the low, low cost of about $10,000. It also was a forerunner to standard device features like a mouse, menu bar and icons. However, it flew too close to the sun as Icarus once did. By 1986, the product was discontinued and only managed to sell about 10,000 units during its lifetime. People had high hopes for the project, some thought it would make grinds easier, and, for the Costners of the world, Jobs promised some freedom.
The footage begins with a man and his dog riding a bicycle and walking against a sun-soaked backdrop before heading into an office. Here, a gravelly-voiced narrator says that some in business do not have to measure their time by a clock as the dramatic music swells. Once in the office, we see Costner’s cool-guy entrepreneur working and then he takes a call while enthusiastically stating he will be home for breakfast.
Was Lisa the future of business? Not exactly, but it worked out great for Costner. Besides landing the lead in Yellowstone, he went on to win two Oscars, three Golden Globes, one Emmy, and six Razzies. Hopefully now, he CAN get home earlier.