1985

 

This clip comes from June 1985, and the first episode of the first single-music genre program on MTV. Heavy Metal Mania was programmed late at night and separated from the MTV flow by opening credits and an on-screen graphic, but it very much mimicked MTV’s traditional structure of music videos and VJ segments for news and interviews. In this clip, “Looks that Kill” leads into news about the metal version of “We are the World” and the heavy metal connection to the latest movie in the Road Warrior movie franchise.

This clip from flow in August 1985 promotes The Young Ones, MTV's first regularly scheduled comedy series, which was licensed from the BBC. The show consisted of 12 episodes from two seasons, and MTV played them on Sunday nights for years. The crude, satiric comedy was a far cry from anything available on US network television at the time. It also included music performances from bands like Motorhead and Madness. MTV's licensing of the show presaged more comedy programming on the channel, such as the Half Hour Comedy Hour, as well as shows it produced for itself and sibling networks like Ren & Stimpy (Nick), Beavis & Butthead (MTV), and South Park (Comedy Central).

This segment from the pilot of Andy Warhol’s 15 Minutes typifies the dense flow of the series, and how it used visual effects, dialogue, music, and themes to tie from one segment to the next. This one veers from models and Sid Vicious, to Bryan Adams talking about his career, to Warhol and Debbie Harry discussing screen tests, to a transgender model, to a male actor/model repeatedly baring his chest.

This video includes a number of the first Art Breaks produced for MTV. Included are clips from Jean-Michel Basquiat, Richard Prince, Jonathan Borofsky, Charlie Clough, Tony Cragg, and Luigi Ontani.

MTV played a significant role in the growth of professional wrestling as television entertainment. In 1984 and 1985, MTV aired a couple of wrestling matches prior to the WWF's first Wrestlemania pay-per-view event. The "Rock-n-Wrestling" connection was the marketing partnership between MTV and the WWF that resulted in programming content in the form of the events, as well as news reports covering them. MTV VJ's participated in "kayfabe"--professional wrestling's elaborate universe where boundaries between performance and reality blur. Here, see a special news reported that appeared in the regular MTV hourly flow between videos by Chicago and John Fogerty.

This promo from 1985 lists a number of new artists viewers might hope to see on MTV. Some would be come major stars (Depeche Mode) or at least have one big MTV hit (Simple Minds). Some would remain forever underground (Minutemen). One interesting aspect of this promo is that it includes Bronski Beat, whose "Smalltown Boy" video was a Billboard Hot 100 song. The band members were openly gay, but that would not have been discussed on MTV in 1985. However, the producers of the promo did add a pink triangle in the onscreen graphics for the band. To paraphrase the Minutemen song that is included, "This Ain't No Network Promo".

A number of companies who hadn't previously advertised on television did so first on MTV. In 1985, Benetton did its first US advertising on MTV. This clip of flow includes the ad, which features still images of models in the clothes and a number you can call and get a Benetton catalog for $4 (not cheap!). The flow continues with Commando starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. There's also a music news bit with the singer of Belouis Some, who was sponsored by Swatch, who had a marketing deal with MTV. The singer doesn't say anything about Swatch, but it is quite possible this music news bit was part of that deal. Elsewhere here I have posted a Swatch ad/music video from Belouis Some.

This flow segment from March 1985 offers examples of various impacts of MTV on popular culture, as well as its own evolutions in programming and marketing partnerships. It begins with the end of a video from Don Henley, which was an exclusive gained from MTV's paid partnerships with record labels to guarantee it got the best music videos before other outlets. VJ JJ Jackson mentions that before it was a video from his former bandmate in the Eagles, Glenn Frey. That video (not seen in this clip) was for a song from the soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop, and a good example of how videos promoted movies and soundtracks, seemingly for free. Jackson also notes it is the kick off a Bruce Springsteen weekend, which will include not just a special, but also stories in the music news. MTV made such marketing agreements with labels, getting programming in exchange not just for videos, but music news coverage. Then there is a Dorito's commercial which was produced especially for MTV and the youth audience, which employs an "MTV style" and youth appeal to introduce its new packaging. A quick 30 second commercial advertises a variety of music compilation albums, ranging from heavy metal to dance, which was also the range of video music on MTV at the time. Then there is a trailer for the movie The Last Dragon, a martial arts/supernatural movie about saving a music video star, produced by Motown head Berry Gordy and featuring numerous black artists on the soundtrack. Finally, it's a promo for reruns of WWF professional wrestling matches that appeared on MTV. In 1985, MTV was expanding into non-video programming, and these wrestling events garnered high ratings and helped grow the popularity of the WWF on television.

This clip features an ad break from MTV's landmark broadcast of Live Aid, which won a Peabody award in 1985. Here we see a series of promos and ads, as well as one VJ clip with Martha Quinn (in a sweet hat) and Mark Goodman (in some short shorts) killing some time between sets. The clip begins with the end of a performance in London with Paul Young and Alison Moyet, then there is a MTV promo clip about Live Aid, which mentions that the advertisers are donating/sponsoring the broadcast along with MTV. Notable ads include one with Lionel Ritchie, who was at the height of his popularity, singing for Pepsi. There is also an ad with lesser known rock band the Del Fuegos, singing for Miller Beer. The ad was directed by Tim Newman, who helmed all of the iconic ZZ Top Eliminator videos. There was a big difference between pop artists and rock bands singing in commercials, however, and the Del Fuegos felt this Miller ad ruined their credibility. There is also an ad here from AT&T, which pairs their cheery "Reach Out and Touch Someone" jingle with harrowing footage of African starvation (and some video clips from "We Are the World." It's a jarring juxtaposition, and doesn't seem like something you would see and hear today.

One of MTV's first forays into movie premiere-based programming, this clip is from the premiere of Pee Wee's Big Adventure in 1985. It features a live performance from Pee Wee's costar, E.G. Daily, followed by VJ Mark Goodman chatting with Alice Cooper and Eddie Murphy. Then VJ Alan Hunter ushers in a number of starlets to kiss Pee Wee. Finally, a music video produced for the film, but which does not standalone enough to appear in typical MTV video flow, is shown. MTV learned that partnerships with studios for a premiere, paired with an ad buy, could result in cheap programming. This was another step away from music video-based programming toward unscripted content.

This MTV flow from 1985 includes a commercial for Campbell's Chunky Soup that was made specifically for MTV. It's an example of food companies (not just candy companies) targeting teens who impact grocery shopping. This was a development that took place in the mid-80s, as the range of food companies advertising on MTV increased. Also noteworthy in the flow is a Coke commercial that looks like the sort of All-American, family-oriented ad that could appear anywhere. More interesting is an ad for Love's Baby Soft cologne, which looks and sounds like the video for A-ha's big hit, "Take On Me."

In the mid-1980s, Swatch partnered with MTV to sponsor events and purchase ad time. They also made this commercial, which not only features the Belouis Some song, "Some People," but looks very much like the video of the same name. This includes identical shots as the videos, except in the commercial models wearing Swatch clothing appear. Within an hour of this commercial, the music video appeared in MTV flow on the day it was recorded in September 1985.

All kinds of clashes could be found in MTV's music video flow. Not just in terms of musical styles or sounds, but in attitudes toward commerce and politics. This brief clip features the end of one song, and the start of another, from August 1985. The first song is by legendary punk band The Minutemen, "This Ain't No Picnic." It combines black and white film footage from a movie starring Ronald Reagan as a fighter pilot with the band performing. Of course, he bombs the antagonizing Minutemen. Just months later, guitarist and vocalist D.Boon was killed when the band's van crashed. A clip from this video was also featured in a "New Music" promo around this time. Next up, John Parr's title song from the brat pack movie, St. Elmo's Fire. We see shots from the film intercut with Parr performing in a bar, then he meets up with the actors, sharing tender moments with each as he lip syncs, then leaves the bar with them.

In this sequence of MTV flow from late June 1985, we can see a variety of ways in commerce and culture mixed, sometimes with fleeting results, sometimes more iconically. This clip begins with the end of a Cyndi Lauper video of an original song for the movie the Goonies, and stars the actors of that film. By the end, however, the video is all about Cyndi's collaboration with professional wrestling, as a brief showdown between Rowdy Roddy Piper and Andre the Giant occurs. Then there is a promo for the upcoming landmark broadcast of the Live Aid concert, which MTV would broadcast in its entirety. Then there are two curious commercial juxtapositions: one for Sun Country wine coolers featuring a partying polar bear. The other is a Honda scooter ad starring Lou Reed. Honda had launched a campaign for its Elite Scooters the previous year with Grace Jones, Adam Ant, and DEVO. Each of them is distinctive and catered to the stars. This one with Lou is the most elaborate, and features a busy street scene while an instrumental section of his song "Walk on the Wild Side" plays. At the end, Lou appears and tells us "Don't settle for walkin'."