After 28 years as the king of kid commercials, the leader of the little people, Bob Ebel has closed shop. His building is up for sale. He’s not leaving the business, just unburdening the responsibilities of company ownership.
As of Sept. 1, Ebel and John Komnenich will join the Story roster of A-list directors.
Mark Androw, Story’s executive producer, says he is “delighted to have these two extraordinarily talented directors as part of our company.”
In the process of recovering from recent heart surgery, Ebel says this is “a perfect time for me to close the business and simplify my life.”
The new arrangement will allow Ebel to concentrate on selective projects. “I will continue to focus on what I do best, on having kids tell stories for adult products,” he says.
Story will assure that jobs for both directors will be run like they have been in the past, “with no change to them or to their clients in the way projects are handled,” says Androw.
Jason Schettler will continue to work with Ebel?he’d been Ebel Productions’ executive producer, and Rick Rosemeyer will produce for Komnenich.
They will be represented by Story’s network of national sales offices.
Androw points out that both directors have had successful careers almost exclusively through word-of-mouth and without sales reps. “My sales people are chomping at the bit to sell them to clients that weren’t part of their word-of-mouth campaigns,” he says.
Ebel in process of selling his property
