The Cosby Show
In 1982, Texas Instruments hired comedian Bill Cosby as its pitchman. Cosby first pitched the company's new TI/99-4A "Home Computer," which boasted some pretty high-tech specs at that time: a 16-bit microprocessor, 16K of RAM, and 26K of ROM for the modest price of $525.
While Cosby was featured in several more TI ads (as well as ads for Coca-Cola, Jell-O and Kodak), the TI/99-4A was discontinued the following year. Texas Instruments eventually departed the computer-making business but today is one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers in the world.
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