{"id":3487,"date":"2025-08-15T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/?p=3487"},"modified":"2025-08-15T15:29:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T15:29:39","slug":"the-mtv-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/the-mtv-effect\/","title":{"rendered":"The MTV Effect"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bamp-badamp-ba-danna-damp, ba-danna-damp!<\/em><\/p>\n

MTV\u2019s sonic signature by Jonathan Elias<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To borrow from Longhi on Caravaggio, there was life before MTV and life after and the two were not the same.<\/p>\n

Indeed, if I simply mention some song titles or lyrics, you will no doubt conjure up the images from the then-new art form: video.<\/p>\n

Here goes: Take on Me,<\/em> Whip it, Come on Eileen,<\/em> And I ran<\/em>\u2026In a big country<\/em>\u2026Rock the Casbah\u2026Don\u2019t Come Around Here No More\u2026Sledgehammer!..same as it ever was\u2026Thriller\u2026.Vogue!.<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you hear the songs? Could you picture the videos?<\/p>\n

Well, 44 years ago, on August 1, 1981, MTV was unleashed upon the world.<\/p>\n

And when I look back at that enterprise, I see so many interesting ways of thinking and doing things, I thought I\u2019d call a few out for you here. Because four decades later, we are in the midst of another creative revolution with AI, and hopefully, there\u2019s something here you might be able to use for your own creative journey.<\/p>\n

First and foremost, MTV was unconventional<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The original idea was called \u201cTV1.\u201d It was hatched in a broadcast world of three television networks. It was a true disruption to the lily-white, banal plastic aesthetic of network TV. TV1 (soon to be MTV) was the vision of a young creative executive named Bob Pittman. His idea was to \u201cdo TV differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that idea was \u201cmusic television.\u201d And while there had been previous attempts to do TV and music, they somehow never sang.<\/p>\n

Bob and team had a thesis that TV and music weren\u2019t successful because people kept trying to make music fit the TV form \u2014 narrative. But with MTV, they had TV fit the music form \u2014 mood. MTV would prioritize emotion, design and attitude. It was a concept that merged the two dominant cultural forces of the time \u2014 television and Rock \u2019n Roll.<\/p>\n

The funding was unconventional<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The creation of MTV was born out of a joint venture between Warner and American Express. Of course, Warner Bros was in the entertainment business, but American Express?! The MTV pitch to the board of Warner-Amex was greeted with skepticism. But there was one guy in the room who bit \u2014 Amex CEO James Robinson. In fact, the conservative, \u201cbank guy\u201d made the first move to put up half the cash for the venture. And after that, Warner CEO Steve Ross was compelled to go in on the entertainment side. You never know who might be the most passionate to give you money for an idea, eh?<\/p>\n

An unconventional ad campaign: \u201cI Want My MTV!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the early days, MTV couldn\u2019t just show up on your screen. Cable operators ruled this part of the visual spectrum. And these cable guys were accustomed to being paid for channel access\u2014a cost the fledgling MTV simply could not afford. So, rather than beg to get on, MTV created demand from the most important people in the mix \u2014 the audience.<\/p>\n

To make this happen, the network launched the iconic \u201cI Want My MTV\u201d ad campaign. Created by ad legend George Lois, the campaign featured the world\u2019s biggest rock stars literally demanding MTV. At the time, this was unheard of. Unlike today, rock stars would never sell out to do ads. But here you had the biggest stars: Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Pete Townshend, the Police\u2026and rising star Madonna, all shouting the same line in different executions: \u2018I want my MTV!\u201d The campaign was a stroke of genius. It mobilized viewers to call up their cable providers and shout over the phone: \u201cI want my MTV!\u201d In due time, MTV was on damn-near every cable box and damn-near every young person\u2019s TV.<\/p>\n

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