Gísli Brynjólfsson | Director Global Marketing
Icelandair

Gísli S. Brynjólfsson is the Director of Global Marketing at Icelandair, where he leads the airline’s global brand strategy, marketing and campaign development across international markets. With more than 25 years of experience across agency and client side, Gísli combines strategic brand thinking with a strong belief in creative effectiveness. At Icelandair, he has helped reshape the airline’s marketing around a distinctive, story-led platform rooted in the Spirit of Iceland — positioning Icelandair not only as a transatlantic airline, but as a gateway to one of the world’s most unique destinations. This thinking is reflected in The Real Unreal, Icelandair’s award-winning brand platform created in response to the rise of AI-generated travel imagery. Built on the idea that Iceland is so extraordinary it may look unreal but is completely real. The campaign has received international recognition, including Winner in Travel & Tourism at the Shorty Awards, Platinum SABRE Award for Best in Show, Diamond SABRE Award for Brand-Building, and Best Travel & Tourism Campaign at the EMEA SABRE Awards. Its latest chapter, Really Bad Photographer Wanted, is still ongoing, but has already turned that same belief in Iceland’s authenticity into a global, participatory story. Based on the simple idea that Iceland is so spectacular even a really bad photographer can take great photos there, the campaign has so far generated over 30 million social media views, 1,200 pieces of PR coverage and 127,000 applications from 180 countries. Gísli is passionate about building brands that earn attention, create commercial impact and use creativity as a strategic driver of business growth.