FROM MUSIC VIDEOS TO MANAGING DIRECTOR: JONATHAN GERARD ON THE ART OF THE HUSTLE, STORYTELLING AND MAKING GREAT WORK

Jonathan Gerard, newly appointed Managing Director of Heckler Singapore, reflects on his journey from directing music videos to leading a creative studio. He champions hustle, collaboration and storytelling, critiques advertising’s self-importance, and sets out to reposition Heckler as a hub for best-in-class storytelling while protecting its people-first culture.  

Jonathan Gerard’s appointment as Managing Director of Heckler Singapore marks a return to his creative roots. Once a music video director with Juice TV awards tucked away in a wardrobe, Gerard recalls the hustle of shooting on film, begging and borrowing short ends, and sweet-talking discounts to make ideas happen. That same drive, he says, is still essential today, paired with the wisdom of experience and the ability to hack processes without losing sight of storytelling.  

His fascination with storytelling began early. At 12, Gerard was captivated when Microsoft bundled Weezer’s Buddy Holly video with Windows 95, a moment that revealed directing could be a career beyond feature films. It set him on a path through screenwriting, music videos and eventually advertising. Among his proudest achievements is Nike Hyper Court, a Manila project that transformed street courts into digital coaching platforms, reaching more than 180,000 basketball players—40% of them female. For Gerard, it proved production doesn’t need to be linear; it can be hacked to fit the idea and still deliver world-class results.  

Gerard admits to occasional envy, citing a recent AI test spot by Paul Middleditch that cleverly concealed its technical origins behind humour and script. But he is equally critical of advertising’s tendency to take itself too seriously. “Advertising has forgotten what made it great,” he argues. “It’s about different ideas coming together to tell stories for an audience. If everyone tells the same story, no one listens.” For him, craft is not about production value but about execution serving the story.  

Asked what Heckler Singapore could make without constraints, Gerard points to The Lego Movie, which he calls the best ad of the last decade. Its plot mirrored the ethos of the product, moving Lego from third place to the world’s number one toy company. If he could invite one creative mind into the studio, it would be Gerry Graf, whose Barton F. Graf 9000 produced work that genuinely made him laugh out loud.  

As he settles into his new role, Gerard is clear about his priorities. He wants to change perceptions of Heckler from a post-production powerhouse to a centre for storytelling, protect the studio’s culture and its people, and blow wide open his own creative energy. “It’s not about the tools,” he insists. “It’s about the person behind the tools. My job is to ensure Heckler is a place people want to come and create—both our team and our partners.”