“We have lost that sense of creative patience”

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When Chafic Haddad walked on stage at the Dubai Lynx to collect his advertising person of the year accolade, it was to celebrate a career defined by collaboration.

“At this point in my career, after 33 years, the recognition isn’t just about the work I’ve done, but the people I’ve done it with,” he says. “I’ve met and worked with so many great people. So, it’s a reflection of the teams, the colleagues, the clients, and the mentors I’ve had throughout my career, who really pushed me to think bigger and to be braver. More than anything else, it’s a good reminder that creativity still matters in such a fast-changing industry.”

For anyone who has been working in the region for over a decade, Haddad needs no real introduction. Since joining JWT Dubai as executive creative director in 2004, he has become one of the region’s most awarded creatives, successfully navigating the multiple rounds of mergers that have transformed the agency landscape. Following the merger of Wunderman and JWT in 2018, he became chief creative officer of Wunderman Thompson MENA, before assuming the same role at VML MENA. The latter was formed from the union of VMLY&R (itself created by the 2018 merger of VML and Y&R) and Wunderman Thompson in late 2023.

ArabAd caught up with Haddad to discuss his career, awards, and how adland has changed in the decades since he first joined the industry.

The Early Days

Within three weeks of graduating from the American University of London, where he had studied commercial arts, Haddad landed a job at TMI JWT. The agency was headed by Roy Haddad (no relation), who would later become WPP’s first-ever director for the Middle East and North Africa. The agency’s affiliation with JWT began in 1987 and would eventually lead to the acquisition of majority equity in the late 1990s.

Haddad’s love for advertising emerged during the golden age of British TV commercials, when advertising was an intrinsic part of popular culture. “For me, ad breaks were more interesting than the movies,” he says, recalling a series of iconic commercials from the late 1980s and early 1990s. “I remember the British Telecom, British Airways, and Hamlet cigar campaigns very well. One ad in particular stopped me in my tracks: British Airways’ ‘Where is Everybody?’

“It was a vignette of shots where there was no one anywhere – not at home, in bars, or on the streets of London. Seeing that ad, I was like: ‘Someone wrote those words, someone chose that image, told that story’. It was the first time I realised that advertising wasn’t just about selling things, it was about shaping culture, provoking thoughts, and moving people. This is what really got me into the business. The simplicity, the beauty. It was so insightful.”

Does advertising still play a similar pop cultural role?

“It does,” he replies. “Obviously, the way you look at things has changed, but there are still some fantastic pieces of work coming out. The only difference is that you had the time to craft the ideas deeply before. You used to obsess over every word. There was space, literally and creatively. We had time to craft ideas deeply, obsess over the copy, and media wasn’t anywhere near as fragmented as it is now. So, a single big idea could live boldly and consistently across touch points.

“These days, what we have lost is that sense of creative patience. The ability to sit with an idea, to define it, to make it timeless. With such diverse media, such speed and volume, it’s a lot more challenging, but the core creative instincts – storytelling, truth, emotion – are still there. The challenge now is really protecting them in a faster, noisier world. But the best work today still shows an obsession with detail, even in fast-moving formats.”

Arrival in the Gulf

Having oscillated between London and Beirut, Haddad moved to Dubai in 2004. The old JWT offices were located in Arbift Tower, Deira – a semi-iconic creekside skyscraper built in 1982. The agency eventually moved to Business Central Towers, where the likes of Vatche Keverian, Sally Tambourgi, and Ash Chagla would roam the hallways and conference rooms.

“When I came to the region, it was full of raw energy and possibilities,” remembers Haddad, whose offices are now in the Gateway Building in Dubai Media City. “It was a smaller industry, more intimate and with fewer platforms. There was print, TV, radio, and outdoor at the time. So, teams were tighter, but there was a real sense of craft and pride in the work. You had to earn your place, but once you did the learning was non-stop. There was a case for big ideas and there was time to refine them. There was this hunger to prove what the region really could do.”

That hunger hasn’t been lost, believes Haddad. However, the nature of today’s industry – fragmented, fast-moving, and saturated with content across countless channels – makes questions about agencies’ relevance and the work they produce more pressing than ever.

“My concern in the long run is that speed and scale might outpace substance,” he says. “With the pressure to produce more, faster, across endless platforms, there’s a risk of losing the strategic thinking and craft that make advertising effective and meaningful.

“As for agencies, many are evolving, but not all are fit for purpose yet. The ones that thrive will be those that break silos, embrace agility, and blend creativity, data, and tech without losing sight of human insight. The future belongs to agencies that can think big and move fast, without compromising on the work.”

Awards

VML was named network of the year at the Dubai Lynx (see separate article). While it marked new territory for VML, it was familiar ground for Haddad, who saw JWT win agency of the year in 2008 and network of the year in 2010 and 2016.

Cannes was a more muted affair. Although the agency picked up two silvers and five bronzes, the festival was overshadowed by scam ads, AI-manipulated campaigns, and exaggerated results (see separate article). The controversies foregrounded the issue of agency proactiveness – an activity central to many of the scandals plaguing Cannes and other festivals, both as a creative catalyst and a source of ethical tension.

Despite the well-defined relationship between proactive work (ads initiated by agencies themselves, sometimes with minimal or nominal client involvement) and scams (work created purely for awards, often with fabricated results or non-existent clients), Haddad defends the practice of proactivity, albeit with the caveat that it must serve the brand.

“Great ideas don’t always start with briefs, and many breakthrough campaigns begin as proactive sparks that deliver real value to clients,” he says. “Yes, you still see work in award shows that doesn’t meet the criteria, but alongside that, there’s also a huge amount of real, meaningful work being celebrated, grounded in insight, purpose, and craft. Many award shows, including Cannes, are doing their best and are actively working to improve transparency and fairness. Judging processes are evolving, with more diverse and experienced juries, and there’s increasing pressure for proof of real-world deployment and client approval. At the end of the day, awards are a tool. Valuable when used to celebrate genuine creativity and innovation. But they’re not the only metric of success. We all know what the real measure is work that connects, moves, sells, solves, or shifts something in the real world.”

Over the past two decades, the ad industry has witnessed profound change, driven by digital innovation, shifting consumer behaviour, and the proliferation of new media platforms. This complexity has been reflected in the expanding number of award categories at major festivals such as the Dubai Lynx and Cannes Lions. In 2005, Cannes had eight main categories. By June this year, that number had increased to well over 30.

“The definition of great work is evolving. The juries recognised ideas that weren’t just creatively sharp but culturally relevant, strategically sound, and tech-enabled,” says Haddad of the Dubai Lynx. “So, for me, the difference today is that the best work doesn’t just tell a story, it creates experiences, solves problems, and moves across platforms seamlessly. It’s blending creativity with data, innovation, and emerging tech. What hasn’t changed is that it still starts with a strong insight and a brave idea.”

Haddad on…

AI: “Yes, AI is the topic of the moment and is a powerful tool if used with intention and used wisely. But the core of great advertising – human insight, emotion, and big ideas – still requires creative intuitions. It requires us. Yes, AI is a good accelerator, but it’s not a replacement. The best work will come from teams who really know how to blend this human creativity with AI’s capabilities.”

Passion: “I still get that spark. With every new brief, I still see an opportunity to uncover insights and to create something meaningful. While the landscape is faster, the core thrill of really turning a challenge into an idea that connects hasn’t changed. I still love it. Especially when the brief is strong and you have a good insight and the team is aligned.”

Legacy: “I want to keep growing as a person who can inspire bold thinking. To help people find their unique voices and really push the teams and people I work with to break new grounds. I would really like to leave a legacy of fearless creativity and an agency culture that embraces change while staying true to craft and humanity.”