Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer' Won 9 MTV Awards in 1987 and Is Considered Greatest Music Video Ever Made

Why It Matters

The video proved that music videos could be high‑concept art, reshaping promotional strategies and setting a benchmark for visual innovation that still drives brand storytelling today.

Key Takeaways

• Sledgehammer won nine MTV VMA awards in 1987, a record.
• Video pioneered stop‑motion techniques with Aardman Animations.
• Most‑played video in MTV history during its peak era.
• Elevated music videos to recognized art form.
• Influenced subsequent artists and visual directors.

Pulse Analysis

When MTV launched in 1981, most clips were simple performance or narrative pieces. By the mid‑80s, audiences craved visual spectacle, and Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” arrived as a perfect storm of music and avant‑garde animation. The video’s release coincided with the rise of cable music television, turning a single song into a cultural event and demonstrating how visual creativity could amplify a track’s commercial reach.

The production leaned heavily on stop‑motion, a labor‑intensive process that required animators to manipulate tiny objects frame by frame over a week‑long shoot. Partnering with Aardman Animations—later famed for “Wallace & Gromit”—the team transformed Gabriel’s face into a kinetic canvas, integrating clay, claymation, and early computer‑assisted effects. This hybrid approach pre‑dated the digital tools that dominate today’s music‑video pipelines, making “Sledgehammer” a technical milestone that inspired a generation of visual artists and VFX studios.

Commercially, the video’s nine VMA wins and status as MTV’s most‑played clip translated into massive airplay, boosting album sales for *So* and solidifying Gabriel’s crossover appeal. The success illustrated how a compelling visual narrative could become a standalone revenue driver, prompting record labels to invest heavily in high‑budget videos. Modern brands still reference “Sledgehammer” when crafting immersive campaigns, underscoring its lasting influence on both music marketing and the broader advertising landscape.