Bon Jovi - Born To Be My Baby

What this video is

Released in November–December 1988 at the commercial zenith of Bon Jovi's arena rock dominance, 'Born to Be My Baby' was the second single from New Jersey, the follow-up to the record-shattering Slippery When Wet. The black-and-white studio aesthetic was a deliberate tonal choice that distinguished the New Jersey video campaign from the glossy, color-saturated productions typical of the era, lending the material a…

Why it matters

Represents the apex of late-1980s mainstream hard rock's MTV dominance, showcasing the deliberate aesthetic divergence of the New Jersey campaign toward black-and-white documentary realism. The video's ultra-rapid editing (271 cuts, 1.15s avg shot length) is an early marker of the accelerating MTV…

The director

Wayne Isham (b. December 2, 1958, Vinita, Oklahoma) is an American music video and film director. A UC Santa Barbara alumnus, he was inspired by David Bowie's 'Ashes to Ashes' to enter the medium. He became a defining force in arena rock visuals through the…