MTV commercial Quotes

Context

This line is spoken by various musicians in an ad for the cable network MTV (1984)

In the days before Teen Wolf and Scream, even before Real World and Road Rules, MTV was the place to go for music videos. Back then, no one could upload a clip to VEVO or YouTube, so all the biggest pop and rock stars like Cyndi Lauper, Pat Benatar, Billy Idol, and the Police took to the airwaves to tell you to tell your cable company, "I want my MTV!"

That's right: back then there weren't 4,376 channels to choose from, either. You had to actually request the ones you wanted. Can you believe it?

Where you've heard it

You've heard this when your mom or dad misses the days when MTV used to play music videos, back before reality TV killed the music video star.

Additional Notable References:

• Pop culture scholars can check out a history of the network in book form.
• Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" video features the chorus "I Want my MTV."

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

If you're talking about classic MTV, this isn't pretentious. But no one would be calling their cable company today to get MTV based on its current programming.