An
MTV Video Music Award (commonly abbreviated as a
VMA) is an award presented by the cable channel
MTV to honor the best in the
music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the
Grammy Awards (in the video category), the annual MTV Video Music Awards ceremony has often been called the "
Super Bowl for youth", an acknowledgment of the VMA ceremony's ability to draw millions of youth from teens to 20-somethings each year. By 2001, the VMA had become a coveted award. The statue given to winners is an
astronaut on the moon, one of the earliest representations of MTV, and colloquially called a "moonman". The statue was conceived by
Manhattan Design—also designers of the original MTV logo—based on the 1981 "Top of the Hour" animation created by
Fred Seibert, produced by
Alan Goodman, and produced by
Buzz Potamkin at
Buzzco Associates. The statue is now made by New York firm,
Society Awards. Since the 2006 ceremony, viewers are able to vote for their favorite videos in all general categories by visiting MTV's website.