Which Cars video won the first VMA for Video of the Year?

The Cars’ “You Might Think” won the first MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.

The award was presented at the inaugural VMAs on September 14, 1984, at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. The song appeared on the Cars’ album Heartbeat City and became especially notable for its inventive video, which used early digital effects to make band members’ faces and bodies appear in startling, surreal ways.

The video was directed and produced by Jeff Stein with the visual-effects company Charlex. Its reported production cost was about $80,000, unusually high for a music video of that period. “You Might Think” was also nominated in several other categories, including Best Special Effects and Best Concept Video.

A common mix-up is “Thriller,” which was one of the ceremony’s most famous nominees and won Best Choreography and Best Overall Performance. It did not win the first Video of the Year award.