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    STORY’s John Komnenich Directs Mayhem (Dean Winters) in  Spot for Allstate

    By Artisans PRUpdated:No Comments12084 Views
    STORY is a full-service production and post-production company with locations in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.

    Commercial pairs Allstate Chairman Tom Wilson with the brand’s familiar Mayhem character.

    CHICAGO -- (SPW) --

    STORY’s John Komnenich recently directed Allstate chairman and CEO Tom Wilson and actor Dean Winters in a 30-second TV spot produced for Leo Burnett.  In the ad, Wilson has trouble reading his lines due to a prankster holding his cue cards.  He contorts his body to make out the words on the moving card. A cut to the camera crew reveals the culprit: Allstate’s malicious troublemaker Mayhem.

    The charm of the spot lies in the contrast between Wilson’s self-effacing performance and the antics of Mayhem (played by actor Dean Winters). “Incorporating Mayhem into the story adds an element of comedy,” says Komnenich, “and it helps to humanize Tom Wilson and make him seem more fun.”

    Viewers would never know it, but the commercial is actually a cleverly-constructed composite. Komnenich shot Wilson in Chicago, Winters in New York City and the stadium—the Superdome—in New Orleans. The parts were assembled seamlessly in post production. “Coming from an editorial background, I am very careful about lenses, camera position and other details to ensure the optics and the angles match,” Komnenich explains. “It came out very well.”

    Komnenich has worked on Allstate advertising for a long time and has directed a number of previous ads featuring Tom Wilson and Mayhem. “It’s been great working with Tom over the years,” he says. “He’s very loose and relatable on camera. With Mayhem, since he has already developed his own character, it’s just a matter of putting him in the situation and then working with him on timing and interaction. He’s a very talented actor.”

    STORY is represented on the East Coast by Ilene Silberman (212) 794-9030; in the Midwest by Amy McIntyre (312) 550-2554, in the Southeast by Miller + Associates, (954) 563-6004; in the Southwest by Gossip!, (214) 288-2813 and on the West Coast by Yvette Lubinsky, (310) 827-2626.

    For more information, visit http://www.storyco.tv/
     

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    Video Credits

    Title: Chairman’s Cue Card Trouble

    Client:  Allstate

    Agency: Leo Burnett.

    Production: STORY.
    John Komnenich, Director; Mark Androw and Cliff Grant, Executive Producers; Mary Langenfeld, Head of Production.

    SPW Category:New ScreenWork Releases (commercial, film, TV, online, etc)
    Tags:KomnenichMayhemAllstatestory



    Stephen Arnold Music Creates Immersive Soundtrack For Histovery’s “American Revolution: The Augmented Experience”

    Wednesday, February 11, 2026
    Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) created a dynamic, historically-detailed soundtrack for Histovery’s American Revolution – The Augmented Experience

    Stephen Arnold Music (SAM), the world leader in sonic branding, created a dynamic, historically-detailed soundtrack for American Revolution – The Augmented Experience (ARTAE), an ambitious two-year production created by Histovery to mark the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. An evergreen traveling exhibition, ARTAE will tour the United States beginning later this year. The first major institutions to host the attraction will include The Historic New Orleans Collection, Charlotte Museum of History, and National Museum of the United States Army. Developed in partnership with leading historians and scholars, ARTAE transports visitors back in time through twenty immersive, interactive experiences, unfolding across the Thirteen Colonies and beyond. Using Histovery’s proprietary tablet, the HistoPad, visitors explore mid-18th-century Williamsburg, witness the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party, fight alongside the minutemen at Lexington and Concord, and stand with congressmen at the signing of the Declaration of Independence. “ARTAE offers a radically new way to experience the birth of a nation and the founding of a modern democracy,” says Edouard Lussan, Chief Content Officer & Co-Founder, Histovery. Working alongside Histovery’s creative and animation teams, and its panel of historians, SAM produced realistic, immersive sound environments that seamlessly support the exhibition’s augmented reality visuals. “Growing up in the U.S., you of course learn about the American Revolution in school, but the historical research and detail that Histovery brought to this project was extraordinary,” says Russell Boiarsky, SAM director of brand strategy. “It shed new light on the story from a fresh perspective, and made... Read More

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