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1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #27

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Time to visit the Duke. Let’s dispatch this commercial break quickly so we can get back to the videos sooner rather than later. We kick off with the eighth appearance of the frequently played promo for “Big Bang ’89”: live performances from Robert Plant, Poison, Winger, Cameo, Hall […]

posted 5 June 2018 in 1988. 2 comments

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #24

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) The commercial break kicks off with a time-lapse video. A shadow of the MTV logo glides across a wall. As it moves, black-clad graffiti artists paint the shadow on the wall, resulting in a mural of overlapping MTV logos. It’s a well-conceived, attention-grabbing ten-second spot. Next up: another […]

posted 10 May 2011 in 1988. no comments yet

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #19

Once again, we visit the Duke. For the fifth time, we see the hourly promo spot for the “Big Bang ’89” broadcast. Lots of quick video clips: Robert Plant points to the sky. Bret Michaels flails his arms around. Kip Winger bashes out a chord. Larry Blackmon rocks the codpiece. Daryl Hall grabs a handful […]

posted 10 June 2010 in 1988. 4 comments

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #17

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) A scrap of paper isolated on a black screen has the single typed word “sexy.” It’s followed by two quick flashes of dancing bodies–a little bit of skin, and a whole lot of fringe. Then we get a closeup on a light-skinned black woman, speaking with a British […]

posted 17 February 2010 in 1988. 5 comments

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #11

Onward through the 1988 MTV countdown! (If you’re just joining us and want to get up to speed, click here.) The commercial break, as usual, starts with a spot for an MTV program: in this case, “The Year in Rock 88.” “Sixty minutes that took twelve months to make,” says Voiceover Guy. We see Kurt […]

posted 7 January 2009 in 1988. 3 comments

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #8

An animated MTV promo: this one’s got African-style masks in a color palette of black, white, orange, and yellow–and lots of drumming and hollering on the soundtrack. It’s just ten seconds long, but if you nodded off during the Icehouse video, it wakes you up. The “Bad to the Bone” riff announces another ad for […]

posted 11 September 2008 in 1988. 3 comments

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #5

“Time to visit the Duke,” former Sex Pistol Steve Jones often says on his (excellent) Los Angeles radio show when heading into a commercial break. I had been listening for months before any guest asked him what “the Duke” meant; I had assumed it was a euphemism for the bathroom, but it turns out Jones […]

posted 15 July 2008 in 1988. 6 comments