Masters celebrates 53 years of success in advertising

With over half a century (and counting) of experience in an industry that is as volatile as it is interesting, as rewarding as it is frustrating, Masters is proud to have been one of the pioneers and at the helm of arguably one of the most important and influential industries in the country. 

The brainchild of the visionary entrepreneur Cyril E. Masilamani, Masters has gone from strength to strength and is now in the capable hands of his two children; Mike, who oversees the creative aspect and Dharshi, who handles the overall management of the agency, spearheading it into the next century.

Masters believes in providing ‘solutions’ for its clients, as against simply doing ‘advertising’, investing time and effort into the creative thought process, giving their clients what they need, as opposed to just doing what they want. 

Evolving with the times and keeping pace with technology, replacing the airbrush and bromide with all the tools provided by the latest in photo editing and graphic design software, Masters has been the backbone, playing key roles in the launch, branding and re-positioning of many local, international and multi-national names, giving them high brand equity and top-of-mind recall, as well as placing them amongst the most loved names with local consumers.

These brands include Dialog, CBL – Munchee, Audi, Volkswagen, Chaaya Hotels and Resorts, Elephant House – Bitter Lemon, Hemas-Gold, Janashakthi Insurance – Early Achievers, NDB Bank, Link Naturals – Sudantha, SINGER – Thirst for Life, Carlton Super 7’s Rugby for Sri Lanka Insurance, Tokyo Super Cement, BIC and PE+ Water Tanks, as well as the new additions to its portfolio; Amana Takaful Insurance, Bank of Ceylon and Litro Gas, to name a few. 

Masters is proud to have been the ‘creative force’ behind the recent launch of Bank of Ceylon’s ‘SmartGen’ campaign, taking the bank to the next generation and the Litro Gas ‘Vaasi Asiriya’ promotion campaign, taking the name and the cylinder to the rural, grassroot level consumer, educating and encouraging them to use Litro gas, as opposed 

to firewood.

The Masters team is comprised of a mix of youth and experience, with some of the ‘old hands’, who have been making vital contributions, to both the agency and the industry as whole, for many years and some ‘young blood’, from both within and without the industry, knowledgeable and experienced in a cross section of disciplines, but with the skill-set and passion to take the agency to the next level, innovating and creating new concepts, using the latest and best tools technology has to offer, not limited to graphic design and image manipulation, but also extending to video and photography, 3D modelling and animation as well as compositing and motion graphics, to name a few.

Although Masters’ trophy cabinet is a testament to some of the work it has done (and what it has achieved), its real strength, its true worth, goes beyond trophies and ‘precious metals’, to the accolades and words of appreciation awarded to it by its clients, for not only achieving but surpassing all targets and expectations they had, in handing the campaign to the agency. 

For Masters is rooted in and focused first, last and everything in between, on its clients’ needs and requirements, and exceeding its clients’ expectations. And within that mandate, if it wins an award, then so be it. This is something it has firmly stood for the last 50+ years and counting.