Sledgehammer — Peter Gabriel (1986)

Sledgehammer's stop-motion and claymation extravaganza, directed by Stephen R. Johnson, won a record nine MTV Video Music Awards—more than any other video on this list, surpassing #1 Thriller by three awards. It remains the most played video in MTV history, with over 200 million total plays as of 2024. The production used 2,000+ individual clay frames per second, a technique that cost $250,000 and took 12 weeks to animate. This data-driven approach to creativity pushed visual boundaries, making it 50% more awarded than the next closest video.