Global spotlight shines on rising young creative star, Shyan Gershon of TBWA\Sri Lanka

Shyan Gershon 

Branding in Asia, a dedicated source for news, creative work, insight on branding, marketing and advertising in the Asia Pacific region began a special segment to highlight young creatives in the advertising industry under the caption of ‘One under 30’. One of its recent interviews featured an up and coming young Sri Lankan creative, Shyan Gershon.

Currently a Creative Group Head at TBWA\Sri Lanka, this 27-year-old began his foray into advertising in 2013 at a boutique agency holding a Marketing Degree from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). His first year in the industry, Shyan immersed himself in learning, from designing to copywriting to videography to composing music and everything in between, an enthusiasm that was not lost on his employers who created a permanent position for him once he completed his internship.

Being recognised as one of Asia’s rising young creatives comes as no surprise as Shyan has in the past year alone won many awards at both local and international advertising and creative award shows for his project the ‘Aura Incense Barricade’; a project focused on providing a non-violent solution to the human-elephant conflict, a big issue in Sri Lanka and in many other countries around the world. 

Shyan freely admits that he draws inspiration from personalities such as Steve Jobs for his ability to create innovative product designs, which also sheds light on the ‘Aura Incense Barricade’ project, an idea that essentially turned the simple incense stick into a powerful elephant repellent, resulting in elephants staying away from villages and thereby avoiding a conflict with humans. A persistent young man with a ‘never say die’ attitude, Shyan worked on this project collaborating with the Wildlife Department of Sri Lanka, and testing the product in the conflict areas prior to its launch. 

Speaking with regard to the project Shyan stated, “I was personally part of every step of the project and I attended each of the testing which was an experience in itself. After a four-year-long journey of blood, sweat and tears, the product was successfully launched in Sri Lanka, and it continued to save the precious lives of both elephants and humans. This project has been the most awarded creative work in Sri Lanka in 2020, so it’s safe to say that it holds a very special place in my heart.” 

Speaking on the current status of the advertising industry Shyan says, “Everyone is running to catch up with the latest technological trend in this ‘digital revolution’ and they have forgotten the true purpose of this creative industry which is to make a connection with people,” a sign that this talented young man is very much in touch with reality. This holds true with his current project which is a silent TV commercial created for a renowned brand, Maliban; a commercial which uses sign language to engage deaf and mute individuals in society and include them in the marketing and advertising narrative. With his personal mantra of ‘if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today’, it can be said that Shyan is passionate about his craft and most undeniably an individual to look out for in the creative landscape of the future.