Advertising legend Gerson da Cunha has passed away. da Cunha started his career with the Press Trust of India. After that, he had a 25-year stint with advertising during which he was CEO at Lintas.
Post his advertising stint, da Cunha was actively involved in theatre and civic activism.
He passed away on 7 January 2022.
Here are some of the tributes paid to him (will be updated):
Amer Jaleel, group chief creative officer and chairman, MullenLowe Lintas Group
My fondest memory of Gerson is that of cheering him on as he cut his birthday cake in his beloved Express Towers, where we had invited him to bid farewell to the iconic office that he set up there over 50 years ago. And just the sheer presence and aura of the man even decades after having left the profession was awe-inspiring. And later we invited him to the new BKC office where once again all of our Mancomm were reduced to star-struck teenagers around him. One can’t really capture the stature and contribution of Gerson. He wasn’t merely an advertising great, rather a towering figure over our lives. Gentle, gracious, titan that’s how I’ll always think of him.
Ashish Bhasin, advertising and media veteran (speaking with Campaign India)
Gerson da Cunha was a thorough gentleman. He cared about society at large. Even after he retired from Lintas, the work he has done on social causes is tremendous and commendable.
He was a theatre giant too.
The void left by someone like him is virtually impossible to fill. The learning we have imbibed from him will stay on for many years. My heartfelt condolences to his family. It is a loss for the advertising and theatre fraternity as well as for the City of Mumbai.
Ujaya Shakya, founder and managing director, Outreach Nepal, author, Brandsutra (speaking with Campaign India)
I had an opportunity to meet and speak to Gerson da Cunha at AdAsia Delhi few years back. I was introduced by the friend and that was my first and last interaction with him but that has a lasting impression as I came to learn about his multi-facet personalities beyond advertising. I also learned about few of his work in advertising which is an inspiration for all young advertising professionals in the region. I take him as a person who believed in the 'power of communication and creativity' and is a prior in the region to crave professional advertising path. It is my great privilege to have known and met him in person. Men like him have inspired us to do good in the business of advertising and creativity. My heartfelt condolences to his family and RIP to the great man.
Tributes on Twitter
Shoba De
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