Creative Profile: Asma Humayun, founder of a solely female-owned production house in Pakistan, talks about stories that matter

Asma Humayun is a global creative director, senior producer and founder of Shiny Toy Guns, set up in 2017, one of Pakistan's solely female-owned, service-based production houses.

Asma has over 15 years of experience leading teams to produce empowering work, determined to create spaces where under-valued and underrepresented women can thrive.

Now a mother, she continues to be driven by her sense of purpose and to show her daughters that being different is both dangerous and necessary.

Hear Asma's story, her reasons for creating campaigns for social change and why the best ideas are always worth fighting for.

What's your story?

Growing up in Pakistan, in a society that often told girls to stay small, I quickly learned that being different could be both dangerous and necessary. 

I was the black sheep in every room I entered: curious, outspoken, and rebellious. 

My mother saw that spark long before anyone else did. Her quiet determination is the reason I ended up at art school. Without her support, I wouldn’t be here today. I was privileged to receive an education that millions of girls in Pakistan never get. Art, movies, music, and creativity became my refuge, a place to escape, imagine, and rebuild the parts of myself the world tried to silence. 

Art school was where I found my voice and realised its power. 

After graduating, I began my career as an art director at one of Pakistan’s leading production houses. I still remember my first day on set. I was the only woman in a room full of men, many expecting me to disappear. Long hours, remote locations, and intense shoots could have been intimidating, but they fuelled my determination. 

I eventually became head of international productions and a partner at the company. This role gave me the chance to shoot films across eight countries, collaborating with incredible crews and learning from diverse creative cultures. Experiencing that respect and collaboration made me realise how much change was needed back home. 

After completing my Master’s at the University of West London, I co-founded Shiny Toy Guns in 2017. When my partner stepped down in 2018, it became one of Pakistan’s solely female-owned, service-based production houses in the advertising industry. 

I had felt silenced early in my career, and I vowed to create a space where undervalued and underrepresented women could thrive. 

Our company may be a tiny fish navigating a sea of sharks, but we move forward with purpose. In 2022, I moved to the UK to give my daughters a chance to grow up in a safer environment and avoid the challenges I faced. I continue to manage Shiny Toy Guns while collaborating with agencies and creative partners globally, ensuring our mission and creative impact continue without compromise. 

Today, my focus is on using creativity to tell stories that drive social change and create impact. 

I strive to lead with courage, showing my daughters and the women I work with that it is possible to stand tall, take risks, and shape a world that is fairer, kinder, and more inclusive, one story, one step at a time.

What is the best advice you have ever been given?

The best advice I’ve ever received is simple: a great idea is always worth the fight. 

Don’t let it go just because someone doesn’t get it yet. Keep pushing, keep shaping, keep believing. 

I’ve carried that through my career, sometimes even half-funding projects myself, driven by the message and impact I knew they could create. I also believe in the power of collaboration and building trusting relationships. Ideas only become meaningful when paired with persistence, empathy, and people you can rely on. At the same time, who you are always matters more than what you do. 

Remember where you come from, the sacrifices others made for you, and never forget to lead with kindness. 

That mix of courage, creativity, collaboration, and compassion is what I bring to every project, every team, and every story I tell.

What are your creative ambitions for the future?

After years of working in advertising and branded campaigns, from selling tea bags to cars and everything in between, my focus has naturally evolved. I loved the craft, the challenge, and the storytelling, but over time, I began to question what stayed with people once the campaign ended. That shift became much clearer when I had my daughters. 

Becoming a mother changed how I see the world and my role within it.

It made me more aware of the stories we normalise, the values we reinforce, and the responsibility that comes with creating work that reaches millions of people. I found myself wanting to use creativity not just to sell, but to contribute to something more meaningful. 

My ambitions are centred on impact. I want to tell stories that challenge perspectives, spark conversations, and create real-world change. 

I am especially drawn to work that sits at the intersection of culture, gender, and social justice, and that approaches difficult subjects with honesty and empathy. 

I also care deeply about building creative spaces that are inclusive and supportive, where different voices are heard and valued. Through my work at Shiny Toy Guns and beyond, mentoring and opening doors for women and underrepresented talent remains an important part of that journey. Ultimately, my ambition is to create work that feels purposeful. Stories that matter, that leave something behind, and that help shape a world my daughters can grow up in with confidence, opportunity, and choice.

As the owner of Pakistan's sole female-led service-based production house in the advertising industry, which work are you proudest of?

Without hesitation, it’s the Child Wedding Cards campaign for UN Women Pakistan. 

It represents everything I believe creativity should be capable of doing.

The campaign centred around wedding invitation cards created to resemble those announcing a child’s marriage. Designed entirely by children aged five to fifteen, these cards were hand-delivered to Pakistani lawmakers. 

In a culture where wedding invitations symbolise celebration and joy, turning that tradition into a moment of confrontation forced people to pause and reckon with a reality that is often normalised and ignored. 

What makes this work especially meaningful to me is how deeply personal it became. 

The project was a true cross-border collaboration, bringing together UN Women Pakistan, Impact BBDO Dubai, and me in the UK. 

It mattered so much that I invested my own resources to support it, forwent any production fee, and flew to Pakistan to shoot the film myself. With no production budget, I took on multiple roles — producing, directing, and editing the piece — to ensure the story was told with the care and clarity it deserved. It was proof that when the message matters most, creativity, empathy, and courage can make up for a lack of scale. 

The campaign sparked national and international conversation, reaching millions and directly engaging decision-makers. Lawmakers publicly responded, conversations moved from silence to urgency, and momentum built in both the National Assembly and the Shariat Court. In 2025, Pakistan passed a landmark law setting the minimum legal age of marriage at 18 for both girls and boys in Islamabad. 

Knowing that our work played a part in that shift is something I will carry with me forever. 

The global recognition, including Pakistan’s first-ever Grand Prix for Good at Cannes Lions, was deeply validating, but the real reward was seeing creativity help push real legislative change. Child Wedding Cards wasn’t just a campaign—it was proof that storytelling, when done with honesty and intent, can protect lives and change futures.

In terms of work you admire created by others, what stands out for you?

The work that stands out for me isn’t always the flashiest or most high-budget piece. It’s the work that has grit, honesty, and moral clarity — work that refuses to let you look away. 

One piece that made a deep impact on me recently is the Indian charity commercial The Impossible Choice for St. Jude India Child Care Centres, created by Ogilvy India and Hungry Films. I first saw this film while judging on the Spikes Asia Film Craft panel, and it has stayed with me ever since. 

The premise is simple but devastatingly powerful: a warden must decide which of two children with cancer gets a hospital bed because there aren’t enough for both. The visuals are stripped back and unflinching. 

There’s no dramatic soundtrack, no grand spectacle — just stark truth and emotional weight. It’s the kind of work that doesn’t ask for your attention, it demands it.

There’s no easy answer, and that discomfort is exactly what makes it powerful. What resonates with me most is how it uses visual honesty and human vulnerability to convey a really complex moral dilemma. It doesn’t sugarcoat suffering or manipulate emotion with theatrics — it lays the problem bare and lets the audience sit with it. 

That kind of courage in storytelling, where empathy is allowed to be messy and real, is incredibly brave. 

It reminds me of why I chose this path in the first place: creativity is not just about communication, it’s about connection. It’s about compassion, about shining a light on the difficult things that society too often ignores. It’s this blend of grit, honesty, and urgency — not just cleverness — that I admire most in the work of others and try to bring into my own practice.

Right now, what do you think is the most exciting thing about the creative industry?

What excites me most about the creative industry right now is its power to make a meaningful difference. 

Creativity today isn’t just about selling products or winning awards — it’s about telling stories that challenge assumptions, spark change, and amplify underrepresented voices. I’m especially inspired by the rise of cross-country collaboration, where teams from different cultures and perspectives come together around a shared purpose. 

It’s also exciting to see how creatives are embracing AI as a supporting tool — not a replacement — enabling new ways of thinking and unlocking ambitious ideas.

Ultimately, the most exciting work isn’t just clever; it’s courageous, empathetic, and purpose-driven. Projects that educate, provoke, and help shape culture are what make this industry endlessly inspiring for me.