MIAMI, FL, February 3, 2009 - All eyes were on Florida this past weekend, and the Sunshine State is already back in the news, with a unique goodwill initiative poised to inspire a trend. Pumped, Inc., a Miami-based brand development and design firm, has launched "Make Change," a new PSA created in support of The Million Penny Project. Helmed by Kenneth O'Brien and Pumped president/creative director Carlos Peña, the:30 depicts pennies positioned on a white background one by one, eventually forming the image of two hands placed together in a gesture of giving. 

"This is the first time we've drawn on our professional experience and industry partnerships to create a brand designed to have a lasting impact in our community," Peña noted. "We've approached this endeavor with the same tenacity we bring to our roster of clients."

The Million Penny Project is a fundraising campaign that invites the community and local businesses to collectively donate their financial and professional resources for a range of different causes. Mr. Peña launched the Million Penny Project as an initiative of Pumped's non-profit arm, Pumped for Change. "We are creating partnerships with a multitude of organizations and vendors to support charities in the community by developing and effectively executing fundraiser strategies," stated Peña. "Our efforts are always to benefit the leading organizations focused on providing relief and solutions to the social need."

"This was an irresistible project on both strategic and creative levels," said Brainchild Creative's Jef Loeb, who served as co-creative director and writer on "Make Change." "Strategically, Carlos' idea of developing a means for people to contribute to their community, despite the economic crisis, was a major conceptual breakthrough. Meanwhile, the visual intrigue and complexity of the time-lapse paint-by-pennies approach combined with the too-obvious-to-ignore simplicity of asking people to 'make change' resulted in one of those executions that you really do want to watch again and again."

Loeb enlisted an award-winning post-production team to build the Miami-shot footage into a compelling visual presentation. San Francisco's Phoenix Editorial with senior editor Bob Frisk cut the spot and handled visual effects and and color correction. While Composer/Sound Designer David Della Santa of Volume Music + Sound scored the spot and wrote the lyrics. Since its release, Loeb has fielded inquiries about the music from several unlikely sources, the office of the Mayor of San Francisco, among them. There is now talk of releasing a full-length version of the song on iTunes, with donations benefiting the organization.

Additionally, Pumped for Change has been approached about creating Million Penny Projects in other communities nationwide. "Our goal all along has been to initiate and inspire action," said Peña. "This is a starting point and we're exciting to see where it leads."

The Million Penny ProjectTM is a fundraising campaign that invites the community and local businesses to collectively donate their financial and professional resources for a cause. The current cause is focused on homelessness (food / shelter / clothing). The goal is to raise one million pennies ($10,000) for participating charities. The benefiting charities are Camillus House and Community Partnership for Homeless. Million Penny Project encourages local residents and business's to help to raise one million pennies for a cause to a charity of their choice. The fundraising effort will primarily focus on direct donations to the charities / agencies through the website and supplemented through merchandise sales all made via the website, www.themillionpennyproject.org. For more information call 305-371-3955 or e-mail moreinfo@themillionpennyproject.org.

Million Penny Project 'Make Change'

Agency: Pumped Inc.
Creative Director: Carlos Peña
Co-Creative Director/Writer: Jef Loeb, Brainchild Creative

Production Company: Filmiko
Director: Kenneth O'Brien
Co-Director: Carlos Peña

Editorial/Post:Phoenix Editorial
Senior Editor: Bob Frisk
Assistant Editor: Matt O'Donnell
Visual Effects Artist: Phil Spitler
Lindsay London, producer, Phoenix Editorial

Music: Volume Music + Sound
Composer: David Della Santa

Audio Post: One Union Recording Studios
Engineer: Joaby Deal