Gerson Da Cunha, former ad man, theatre personality and activist, passed away on Friday in Mumbai. He was 92.
A “model Mumbaikar,” a “true giant,” is how Da Cunha’s former colleagues and friends recalled the adman. Da Cunha began his career as a journalist with the Press Trust of India before jumping into the ad world and going on to head Lintas, the leading agency of the time. He was a zealous social worker and an author too.
Ad veteran Ramesh Narayan recalls meeting Da Cunha while serving as the President of the Advertising Club when he and Da Cunha had worked on a public service campaign to help the police department in Mumbai launch a scheme.
“By that time, he had already passed on the baton of Chairman of Lintas India to Alyque Padamsee. He was a veteran and I was a rookie. I knew him as a big theatre personality and I knew him as an advertising veteran. One of the things which struck me then was his disarming smile, which broke down barriers,” Narayan says fondly.
“He was a warm and a friendly man. That's why I refer to him as a gentle giant,” Narayan adds.
Gerson da Cunha had acted in a host of plays and films such as Electric Moon (1992), Cotton Mary (1999), Asoka (2001) and Water (2005).
He was a science graduate from the University of Bombay. De Cunha began his career as a journalist for the Press Trust of India prior to his stint as the quintessential ad man. He spent 25 years in Lintas, which he headed, and in Hindustan Lever before heading on to work with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) in Latin America and New York City.
Brazilian honour
His work at Unicef had been honoured by the Brazilian government with a medal of 'Order of Rio Branco' for his services to the country in 2018.
He had also acted in an honorary capacity as an advisor to various union ministries and the National Technology Missions under the Cabinet Secretariat. He was also the Chief Executive of Bombay First.
Da Cunha moved to the NGO sector, following his passion for civic work and was associated with various platforms including AGNI (Action for Good Governance and Networking in India).
Recalling his association with Da Cunha, Sam Balsara, chairman and MD, Madison World, says, “Gerson da Cunha was the quintessential advertising man, full of ideas, versatile, witty and with a wonderful command of the written and spoken English language. He was a leader of Lintas for many years and the original Brand Builder of many brands, notably many Lever brands.”
Ambi Parameswaran, brand/CEO coach, who met da Cunha while writing a book on advertising, describes how generous he was with his time, and described him as a trendsetter. “He belonged to an era when the Bombay theatre people used to be the leaders in advertising. Between him and Alyque, they made a great combination. In a sense, Da Cunha was a thought leader. He had a great sartorial style. He brought the beard and the kurta as workwear into Indian advertising and a lot of others followed,” Parameswaran says.