Gerson made living life like an art form: Prasoon Joshi
Remembering Da Cunha, Joshi, CEO of McCann World Group India and Chairman APAC, said that for his generation of professionals, Gerson represented the cerebral
Legendary ad man Gerson da Cunha breathed his last in Mumbai on January 7. The multi-faceted personality passed away at the age of 92. Condolences poured in as the advertising industry mourned losing one of its stalwarts. Da Cunha was born in Mumbai in 1929 and grew up in Mazgaon. His advertising years coincided with his great passion for theatre. He was also very passionate about civic activism in later years.
Remembering the legendary ad man, Prasoon Joshi, CEO of McCann World group India and Chairman APAC, said, “Though he was out of the real day-to-day actions in advertising by the time I started into the profession, for my generation of professionals, Gerson was someone who represented the cerebral.”
“He had a much larger horizon of life and things he loved - be it cinema art or music. He kept curiosity and keen interest alive and made living life like an art form. I will cherish all my interactions with him deeply, he had so much to impart, and that too with generosity,” Joshi said.
Da Cunha started his career as a journalist working for the Press Trust of India (PTI) after graduating in science and then moved into advertising. He spent 25 years in the advertising sector, during which he headed Lintas. Da Cunha was also associated with a slew of platforms engaged in civic activism, including AGNI (Action for Good Governance and Networking in India).
The noted theatre artist, writer and activist also served at Unicef’s headquarters in New York and was honoured by the Brazilian government with a medal of 'Order of Rio Branco' for his services to the Latin American country in 2018.
