35 Incredible Things That MTV Gave Us
From VJs and Reality TV to 'Nirvana: Unplugged,' celebrating the channel's legacy on its 35th anniversary
The "Words" Promo
Some of the best programming on MTV were the station ID spots: They could be blasts of hyperkinetic animation, or Denis Leary rants about Cindy Crawford, or avant-garde micro-dramas. One of the most riveting was the "Words" spot in 1988. It was a full minute of white text against a black background, but you couldn't look away from the critique of commercial messages: "THESE ARE WORDS / THAT COULD BE SAYING SOMETHING / FUNNY OR COOL OR INTERESTING / BUT THEY'RE NOT / THEY'RE JUST SITTING THERE / LIKE YOU." GE