Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund had already made waves with Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" when he took on fellow Swedes The Cardigans' "My Favourite Game" in 1998. The result was one of the most controversial music videos of the late nineties — a three-minute joyride through the Mojave Desert that got censored across Europe.
The concept was deceptively simple: lead singer Nina Persson behind the wheel of a 1974 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, tearing down a desert highway with reckless abandon. She swerves into oncoming traffic, tosses objects from the car, and causes a chain of increasingly violent crashes — culminating in a head-on collision with a van carrying her own bandmates.
Filming took place over three days near Barstow, California, in extreme desert heat that reached 110°F (43°C). Persson, unaccustomed to the brutal conditions as a Swede, reportedly needed oxygen several times during the shoot. A fake colorful arm tattoo painted on for the video melted in the heat and smeared visibly onto the Cadillac's red leather seat. The production cost approximately £220,000.
Åkerlund shot multiple endings showing different fates for Persson's character — from walking away unscathed to dying in the final crash. He also produced five different edits of the video, anticipating the backlash. His instincts proved correct: MTV UK and other European channels refused to air the uncut version, citing concerns that it glorified reckless driving and could encourage joyriding among young viewers. Only censored versions removing the most graphic crash footage made it to air in Europe, while the uncut version saw broader play in the United States.
The controversy ultimately amplified the song's reach. "My Favourite Game" became the lead single from The Cardigans' album Gran Turismo, marking a dramatic shift from the light pop of "Lovefool" to a darker, guitar-driven sound. The single climbed to number three in Sweden, number fourteen in the UK, and topped the charts in Greece.
The connection between the album's title and the world of racing proved more than coincidental — the song was later featured in the PlayStation game Gran Turismo 2 (1999), creating a perfect synergy between the video's automotive chaos and the game's racing gameplay. This placement introduced The Cardigans to millions of gamers worldwide and gave the track a second life that extended well beyond its initial chart run.
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