Winner of two Emmy Awards for best TV spots of the year.

What we do

Public Interest creates bold, attention-grabbing public service advertising. We specialize in making people pay attention.

Partnership

Public Interest partners with nonprofit organizations to help them deliver their message. We learn everything we can about our partners, their message and their audience. Then we do what it takes to get the message through.

Why we do it

Public Interest is run by a small group of people who want to change the world. We work only on causes that we believe in, and we won’t produce anything unless we are convinced it will succeed. Our goal is to make a difference.

Getting seen

Public Interest spots get seen. We will not produce great work only to see it stranded at 4:00 a.m. in the slots that no paying advertiser wanted. We get our work on the right networks at the right times. So far, networks and cable operators have donated more than $350 million to run our spots.

Networks & cable operators

Public Interest has produced more public service advertising for MTV than anyone except for the network itself. We have also partnered with VH1, CBS, Nickelodeon, UPN, Univision and other networks. And we created all national spots for Time Warner Cable’s recent $100M five-year initiative, Connect A Million Minds. These relationships are part of the reason our spots get on air.

Quality

Public Interest produces PSAs that are disguised as entertainment. No one walks away from the TV when our spots come on. We always do what it takes to make people pay attention. Top-notch production values are essential to achieving this.

Cost

Public Interest has a knack for turning tiny budgets into big production values. We have special relationships with entertainment industry vendors and crew that allow us to keep costs way down. We know that donor dollars are precious, and we leverage each dollar at least four-fold in producing our spots.

Not just TV spots

Public Interest creates campaigns that span TV, print, online, outdoor and guerilla. Communicating simultaneously in multiple mediums multiplies the chances of breaking through.  Often most critical is earned media; we take great pride in our track record of creating news to focus attention on the issues our partners care about.

LEADERSHIP

MICHAEL FRANZINI

PRESIDENT / CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Michael Franzini has more than two decades of experience creating powerful ad campaigns for both nonprofit and corporate clients.  His work has garnered dozens of ad industry awards.

Franzini is also an Emmy-Award-winning director, and his TV spots have twice been highlighted by The New York Times as being among the best advertising on television.

As a photographer and writer, Franzini has published several books, including One Hundred Young Americans, the definitive survey of 21st century American youth culture, released by HarperCollins.

[WIKIPEDIA PAGE]    [LINKEDIN]

NICHOLAS CARTER

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Nicholas Carter is an accomplished television and print producer with a proven ability to maximize the impact of limited budgets, especially on geographically large-scale projects that span the country—or the globe.

Carter brings his peaceful and fun demeanor to every project, no matter how great the challenge.  His goal is always to exceed expectations while staying on-time and on-budget, and he has a perfect record of achieving this goal on every project.

CLIENTS AND PARTNERS
MTV—We have created 18 campaigns with the network, two of which won Emmy Awards.
Gates Foundation—We created STAND UP for Bill & Melinda Gates' Oprah appearance and continued to work on it for a year.
CBS—We created a campaign with the network for the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
ACLU—We created a marriage equality campaign.
Allstate—We created the KEEP THE DRIVE campaign.
Google—We created viral videos to promote Net Neutrality.
Ogilvy PR—We have engaged them on multiple projects, including 'Norman, the puppy that moos'.
Goddard Gunster—We produced a 'Harry and Louise' spot for Ben Goddard, directed by Jerry Zucker ('Airplane', 'Naked Gun').
Mother—We partnered with Mark Waites at Mother London on their first U.S. campaign after opening their NYC office.
W+K—Legendary ad industry icon Dan Wieden worked with us on several campaigns.
Wounded Warrior Project—We've shot multiple still and video projects for them, starting very early after they launched and continuing for years.
Berklee College of Music—We shot images for a print campaign.
Univision—We created a campaign to promote computer literacy for the largest Spanish-language network in the U.S.
Kaiser Family Foundation—We partnered with them on over a dozen national TV campaigns, with a combined budget of $6.5M.
Nickelodeon—We created a campaign to promote better communication between parents and kids.
Partnership for a Drug-Free America—We created an award-winning documentary campaign featuring a group of homeless crystal meth addicts.
Rock the Vote—We worked with the organization, along with CP+B, to create an anti-discrimination campaign.
MAC Cosmetics—We worked with them on the Elton John / Mary J Blige campaign.
Girl Scouts—We created a campaign to promote the organization to minorities.
CURRENT TV—We worked with them on the Online Town Hall with Al Gore, and the network created pieces on several campaigns of ours.
EJAF—We spent two years working with them on multiple campaigns.
First Robotics—We created a TV spot to promote the organization.
Freedom to Marry—We created TV spots at a critical time. More than $5M of donated air time.
Gill—We created 'Norman, the puppy that moos'.
GLSEN—We worked with them on a spot featuring Judy Shepard, which became the most-played spot in the history of MTV.
HRC—We worked with Alex Bogusky to create a TV spot for them.
HarperCollins—They published Michael Franzini's book, ONE HUNDRED YOUNG AMERICANS.
TWC—We produced all TV spots for the 5-year $100M Connect A Million Minds campaign.
NY Times—Multiple articles on our work. Quoted MTV President Stephen Friedman, 'Mike gets our audience.'
WSJ—Published a half-page feature on the cover of the Lifestyle section on 4/30/15 about a company launched by our President, Michael Franzini (outside of Public Interest).
Telefonica Investigación y Desarrollo—Spain's equivalent of Bell Labs. Michael Franzini worked here for two years, performing research in artificial intelligence.
CMU—Michael Franzini holds degrees from here in Computer Science and Psychology.
Cambridge Technology Partners—Michael Franzini worked here for two years, managing software development projects for clients such as Fannie Mae and Charles Schwab.
Emmies—We've got 2. :-)
Bill & Melinda Gates—They came to us before going on Oprah. We created STAND UP.
Al Gore—Hosted our Global Online Town Hall Meeting.
Oprah—We created content for two full episodes, with Bill & Melinda Gates.
will.i.am—We spent a day at his house, creating spots to promote STEM (and got some unexpected footage).
Mary J Blige—We shot several spots with her for Elton John's campaign.
Magic Johnson—We shot a TV spot with him for Connect a Million Minds.
Persuasion Arts & Sciences—Dion Hughes and Mark Johnson are two of the most brilliant minds in advertising. We have had the privilege of working with them on several campaigns, including 'Norman: the puppy that moos'.
RadicalMedia—Production partner with Public Interest for more than a decade.
STAND UP—We created this brand for Bill & Melinda Gates.
USC Cinema Arts—Michael Franzini holds a Master's Degree from here.
USHMM—We created a campaign with them to promote Holocaust awareness.
Thinktopia—Pat Hanlon, one of the nation's leading branding experts—and a fantastically talented creative—has worked with us on many campaigns.
j3—We worked with this division of Universal McCann, which is dedicated to media buying for Johnson & Johnson, on a hardcover book for Johnsons Baby and TV spots for NBC featuring Olympic athletes.
White House—We worked directly with the Obama administration on STEM messaging and with the Clinton administration on the Digital Divide.
Connect A Million Minds—We created nearly all of the national TV spots for this 5-year $100M initiative of Time Warner Cable to address the nation's STEM crisis.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan—Participated in our STEM Global Online Town Hall meeting with Al Gore.
Bill Nye, The Science Guy—Participated in our STEM Global Online Town Hall meeting with Al Gore.
Kudo Tsunoda, Microsoft Xbox Creative Visionary—Participated in our STEM Global Online Town Hall meeting with Al Gore.
Jerry Zucker (Director of Airplane & Naked Gun movies)—Partnered with us on a Harry & Louise spot for the National Stem Cell Foundation
Astronaut Sally Ride—Participated in our STEM Global Online Town Hall meeting with Al Gore (shortly before her death).
MythBusters Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman—Participated in our STEM Global Online Town Hall meeting with Al Gore.
Tom Frieden, Head of the CDC—We partnered with him on the 'I Know' campaign, holding a joint press conference at its conclusion, when Frieden was NYC Health Commissioner.
Ed in '08—Working with the Gates Foundation and McKinsey, we launched this organization.
NFHA—We worked with them on a national campaign.
Truth anti-tobacco campaign—We enlisted the entire creative group behind this revolutionary campaign to create our Holocaust campaign.
Ms Foundation—Created a campaign to make feminism relevant to mainstream American women.
Office of National Drug Control Policy / Partnership for a Drug-Free America—We created a widely acclaimed TV campaign featuring homeless crystal meth addicts in Los Angeles.
Center for American Progress, founded by Bill Clinton's Communications Secretary John Podesta—Our Washington headquarters was located in their offices for several years, and we provided them with communication strategy and creative services.
The Raben Group—Public Interest worked closely with former Assistant Attorney General Robert Raben and his team on several projects.
ADL—Helped us secure funding for our Holocaust campaign.
Broad Foundation—Eli Broad personally collaborated with us on the Stand Up campaign and provided over $4M of funding.
Wiesenthal Center—Helped us secure funding for our Holocaust campaign
GSUSA—We created a national TV campaign for the Girl Scouts.
AFI—We created a national TV campaign to promote their Silverdocs Documentary Film Festival.
TFA—We worked with them on a national campaign.
National Stem Cell Foundation—We worked with Jerry Zucker to create an updated
McKinsey—We partnered with them on Stand Up and Ed in 08.
loveLife, the largest AIDS prevention organization in South Africa—We created a US TV spot to raise funds for the organization.

This is our work.

THIS SITE IS OPTIMIZED FOR SUPER-FAST INTERNET CONNECTIONS.
PLEASE BE PATIENT IF THERE’S A SHORT DELAY IN LOADING CONTENT.

Let's talk.

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Your Phone

    Subject

    Your Message

    Public Interest

    3435 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 107
    Santa Monica, CA 90405
    [email protected]
    303.952.7826