The Cars’ 1984 video for “You Might Think” used early computer-generated imagery and won Video of the Year.
The clip presents frontman Ric Ocasek appearing in unexpected places around model Susan Gallagher, including a sink, a television, and a plate of food. Its comic transformations combine optical effects, compositing, stop-motion-like techniques, and early computer-generated imagery.
The video was directed by Jeff Stein and was created during a period when music-video producers were experimenting with new electronic and digital tools. Its effects were not the seamless photorealism associated with modern computer graphics; their appeal came from the visible strangeness of the transformations.
“You Might Think” won the first MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year in 1984. It is therefore connected to both MTV award history and the development of computer-assisted music-video imagery, making it a useful example of how technology and pop promotion evolved together.