The Man Behind the Brand: A Look at Asad Ayaz's Mission to Restore the Magic of Disney Around the World
Ayaz's current success is the "Best Christmas Ever" campaign, with the short film garnering 34 million views on YouTube.
Serving as Disney’s first ever Chief Brand Officer, Asad Ayaz is on a mission to help people around the world remember why they love Disney.
What’s Happening:
- Washington Square Journal recently highlighted Asad Ayaz’s efforts to rebuild Disney’s public image after a year of political backlash tied to projects like Snow White and internal controversies.
- Serving as Disney’s first Chief Brand Officer, Ayaz is showing off his chops with the “Best Christmas Ever” campaign.
- Including a viral holiday video and a Times Square billboard featuring fan-created art, which has already delighted fans and seen dozens of millions of views.
- His broader goal is to depoliticize Disney’s brand and refocus it on feel-good, unifying Americana across parks, films, and media.
- Bob Iger created the role in 2023 after initially resisting the idea, signaling trust in Ayaz during a turbulent period for the company.
- Iger returned to his role as CEO after a very controversial period of time for Disney.
- Bob Chapek, who succeeded Iger initially, severely mishandled the pandemic and several political disagreements.
- One of which was Chapek’s choice to belatedly speak out about Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which led to Walt Disney World and its special district being targeted by the Florida Governor.
- Ayaz, who joined Disney in 2005, rose from the DVD business to become one of the company’s most influential marketing executives.
- Known for being meticulously detailed, he earned the trust of major creatives like Kevin Feige, J.J. Abrams, and the Russo brothers.
- He played key roles in marketing major franchises including Marvel, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the launch of Disney+.
- Ayaz is known internally as an “Ike whisperer” for his ability to work with former Marvel chairman Ike Perlmutter.
- Born in Pakistan and raised partly abroad, Ayaz is a rare South Asian immigrant among top Hollywood executives and is deeply enthusiastic about Disney culture.
- Today, he oversees corporate branding along with marketing for Disney films, television, streaming, and major fan initiatives like D23 and upcoming national celebrations.
- While this is just some of the highlights from the feature, you can check out a full breakdown of all the amazing work Asad Ayaz is doing at the House of Mouse by reading the full article.
Asad Ayaz at the Parks:
- Back in November, Asad Ayaz took a trip to Shanghai Disneyland with other bigwigs Bob Iger, Josh D’Amaro, Alan Berman and more as they celebrated Christmas time and Zootopia 2.
- Shared to Instagram, it is really fun seeing some of Disney’s biggest business names enjoying the incredible magic of the Disney Parks.
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