The second single from Kimbra's debut album Vows is a plea to a disconnected and emotionally unavailable male character to abandon the dark side and embrace the world. Against a dazzling, infinite white background Kimbra and her crew are a riot of colour as they attempt to win over this would-be object of her attentions with song, dance, colour, tambourines and confetti. Australian director Guy Franklin's video was shot in Melbourne and features a cameo appearance from the young girls who appeared in Kimbra's previous video 'Settle Down'.

Set in a Grey Lynn fish'n'chip shop, this clip delivers a killer kai moana concept, when it's revealed that the greasy takeaway is merely a front for the club downstairs. Winner of Best Music Video at the 2006 Vodafone NZ Music Awards, the video features a host of cameos in addition to the members of Fat Freddy's Drop: including Danielle Cormack, Ladi6, John Campbell and Carol Hirschfeld. It was directed by Mark 'Slave' Williams, sometime MC for the band. The track was part of Fat Freddy's first studio album Based on a True Story, one of the biggest-selling in Kiwi history.

Director Chris Graham delivers five minutes of cars, comedy and eye candy in this slick who's who of the 2003 Kiwi scene. Featuring DJ Sir-Vere, VJ Jane Yee, ex sports star Matthew Ridge and Paul Holmes (well actually he was a no show — but his understudy made an appearance), the clip succeeded in planting a relatively unknown hip hop artist squarely on the front page. The result was the biggest selling Kiwi single of the year (it went platinum, and spent five weeks at number one). Named Best Video at the 2005 NZ Music Awards, it cost at least $50,000 to make. 

This was the last music video made by 80s band The Crocodiles before they left NZ for Australia. The clip features new band members Jonathan Swartz, Barton Price (who later found success with Aussie band The Models), and future solo star Rikki Morris, then aged 20. Singer Jenny Morris is in leopard print and pink lycra, and Rikki wears a very 80s combo of high-waisted white pants and argyle sweater, as the band clown around in a supermarket (now a Hutt Valley McDonalds). Dave Dobbyn makes a cameo appearance dressed in drag as Morris's mother.

This was the first music video funded by New Zealand on Air. The song is a colourful plea for Māori youth to preserve their culture by learning the reo — it also doubles as a handy guide to Māori pronunciation. Director Kerry Brown created vibrant animated backgrounds to match the song’s hip-hop beats. The cameo appearances include Moana Maniapoto’s father, MC OJ and the Rhythm Slave, Mika and various crew members. The Moahunters were Mina Ripia (who went on to her own act Wai) and Teremoana Rapley (from Upper Hutt Posse, who went on to manage King Kapisi).

'Spill The Light' kicked off a fruitful collaboration between Betchadupa and Gerald Phillips, with the recent design school graduate taking on the roles of director, animator, actor and cameraperson. The process involved filming himself, then drawing over the footage frame by frame. The result has our head-bopping protagonist sitting down and losing himself in this mellow single from Betchadupa's self-titled EP. The band appear in animated cameos, going about their daily routine, while our listener remains blissfully oblivious.  

Ruban Nielson’s Portland-based Unknown Mortal Orchestra explores lo-fi, funk psychedelia on this bittersweet number from their second album. The video, shot by an American cast and crew at counter-culture hangout Venice Beach in Los Angeles, follows Chris Mintz-Plasse (Superbad, Kick-Ass) as he attempts to extricate a loved one from the clutches of a panhandling, Manson Family style cult. Former Mint Chick Nielson (in black jersey and beanie) and his fellow UMO members have cameos but can’t compete with the family members dancing in the California sun. 

Wellington dub/roots act Rhombus won fans with this video for the brassy, bouncy, self referential first single from their debut album ‘Bass Player’. Director Chris Graham pays fulsome tribute to classic road movie Goodbye Pork Pie (complete with cameo from the film’s star, original 'Blondini' Kelly Johnson). There are also appearances from a number of Wellington musical heavyweights, including Fat Freddy’s Drop, Trinity Roots (with a snatch of ‘Little Things’) and MC Rizzla, also known as Tiki Taane (who features on the original track).

This energetic, good-natured clip takes hip hop to the farm, with King Kapisi donning a black singlet and making some dangerous moves both in the shearing shed, and with a lethal weapon constructed from a pair of jandals. The clip is loaded with cameos: aside from musical help from Che Fu, the first minute sees appearances by legendary All Blacks Michael Jones and Peter Fatialofa, while among the eel hunters are Oscar Kightley and Nathan Rarere. All this, and a bonus sequence where the crew attempt to freestyle on the theme of 'gidday'. 

This highly charged tale of a domestic appliance with a mind of its own marked The Mutton Birds’ only number one hit. The slightly sinister video — the band’s fourth with director Fane Flaws — hints at Don McGlashan’s time with The Front Lawn. A furtive McGlashan takes the lead, with Elizabeth McRae (then known for playing Marj on Shortland Street) as his mother. The other Mutton Birds have cameo roles: seedy second-hand dealer (David Long) and Salvation Army brass section (Ross Burge and Alan Gregg). Max TV viewers voted the result their favourite video of the year.