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Mike X
Mike X, Los Angeles, 2022
Born
New York City, U.S.
Occupation
  • Entrepreneur, Author, motivational speaker, content creator
Known forEntrepreneurship, Motivational speaking, Content Creation, Filmmaking, Marketing, Directing TV Commercials, Brand Management, Design, Advertising
TikTok information
Followers250 thousand
Likes800 thousand
Last updated: May 10, 2023
Websitemikex.com
Mike X
Personal information
Born
Michael X Franzini
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2020 - Present
GenrePersonal Development

Michael X Franzini, known professionally as Mike X[1] is an American entrepreneur, author, and content creator based in Venice Beach. He previously ran X-UP, a creative firm with offices in LA, Austin and New York.[citation needed] In 2023, he released a Self-help book Your Best Life: Tactics, Tools and Insights to Create a Life of Fulfillment, Joy and Abundance.

Photography

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In possibly the first viral campaign to use currency as its medium, Franzini minted 250,000 coins resembling pennies and entered them into circulation in New York City.[2] He made a X-Up Case Study: Currency as an advertising medium – X-Up: Creative Vision about the campaign. In 2011, Johnson & Johnson hired Michael X Franzini to travel to all 50 states to photograph one baby in each state. Each baby was photographed with one or both parents, sharing a moment of "everyday joy." The book was launched on The View on Mother's Day 2011.[3] His images have appeared in art galleries around the world, including Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art.[4]

Activism

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In 1998, along with Jon Kamen and Frank Scherma, the founders of @radical.media, Franzini founded Public Interest, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to creating advertising for good causes.

To address young people's lack of awareness of the Holocaust,[5] Franzini partnered with MTV and the creative group at Arnold Worldwide and Crispin Porter + Bogusky to make the Holocaust more relevant to American teens today. He created a series of TV spots that portray events from the Holocaust taking place in a modern setting.[6]

In 2012, Franzini wrote and directed TV spots featuring Will.i.am to motivate young Americans to get interested in math and science, as a means of addressing America's STEM crisis.[7][8]

Working with Rock the Vote in Los Angeles to shed light on young people's attitudes towards discrimination and bias, Franzini organized a social experiment in which kids at a skate park were segregated by security guards according to eye color. The surprising result was that virtually all of the kids complied without any objection.[9] In another setting—at a drive-through hot-dog establishment in the San Fernando Valley—Franzini put up signs that read "customers with foreign accents will be charged double" next to the menu board. In this case, the outcome was that no passive bystander (i.e. individual not being charged double) objected to the policy. [10][9][11] To combat teens' indifference to the threat of STD's,[12] Franzini and MTV created a campaign in which teens were shown recklessly refusing protection in non-sexual contexts, such as riding a roller coaster and going shark diving.[13] Franzini organized an online town hall meeting with Al Gore. Franzini wrote talking points for Gore and directed Gore in the one-hour live event.[14][15][16]

Tim Gill, creator of Quark and founder of the Gill Foundation, gave Franzini a budget of US$1M to "move the needle" on attitudes towards marriage equality, in Colorado Springs, which is widely considered the epicenter of anti-gay sentiment in America, because it is the location of the headquarters of Focus on the Family. Franzini assembled a team that created a fictional dog named Norman, who happened to be born different: instead of barking, he moos. Norman came to life in five TV spots, on billboards, banners on downtown street lamps, yard signs and via guerilla advertising.[citation needed]

Norman Bus Wrap
A bus wrap created as part of the Norman campaign

The campaign succeeded in changing public opinion and sparked an international controversy and led to an announcement by James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family, that he had a dog named Sherman, who barks, because God intended for dogs to bark. Dobson explained that, "if Sherman ever felt tempted to moo, he would take steps to cure himself of this unnatural behavior."[citation needed]

in 2006 he became Executive Creative Director of the STAND UP Campaign to improve America's education system. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation unveiled the STAND UP Campaign on The Oprah Winfrey Show[17]

Franzini often speaks and consults on marketing to teens. He delivered the Keynote Address at the Ypulse Youth Mashup, an event for marketers trying to reach young Americans.[18] He also spoke on U.S. youth culture at the Southern Growth Conference, at annual event attended by the governors of 13 Southern States.[19]

Books

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References

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  1. ^ "Official Bio Page of Mike X". mikex.com/bio.
  2. ^ "Festival news, events calendar, action alerts and screenings". Archived from the original on 2010-07-06. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  3. ^ a b "Lauren Hoffen". Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  4. ^ "Michael Franzini: Young Americans". Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  5. ^ "1 in 3 not sure Holocaust was real, U.S. Poll says".
  6. ^ "Arnold's Think.MTV Work Is Chilling, Brilliant". 24 January 2008.
  7. ^ www.whitehouse.gov
  8. ^ "X-Up Case Study: A day with will.i.am – X-UP: Creative Vision".
  9. ^ a b "Skate Fest Offers a Lesson in Bias". Los Angeles Times. December 14, 2003.
  10. ^ "CP+B Attacks Discrimination in L.A. County". 17 December 2003.
  11. ^ Elliott, Stuart (December 15, 2003). "Rock the Vote Tackles Discrimination". The New York Times.
  12. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-07. Retrieved 2012-10-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2012-10-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ^ "Tech Coast Angels Portfolio Company, Vokle, Provides Technology Platform for Al Gore..." Archived from the original on 2013-12-24.
  15. ^ "News & Social | Time Warner Cable". Archived from the original on 2013-01-09. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  16. ^ Petix, James R. (March 10, 2011). "Connect A Million Minds "Global Town Hall Event" with Al Gore" – via Vimeo.
  17. ^ "Campaign Seeks Buy-In for High School Reforms" Archived 2006-06-22 at the Wayback Machine, Education Week, April 19, 2006
  18. ^ "Blyk Founder Antti Öhrling and Director Michael Franzini to Keynote the Second Annual 2008 Ypulse National Mashup Conference; Event Targets Professionals Who Need to Reach Today's Totally Wired Youth". PRWeb. Archived from the original on August 31, 2013.
  19. ^ "Untitled Document". Archived from the original on 2013-08-31. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
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