This book is a true story written with the objective of demonstrating to the world that we have managed to develop a robust communication industry in the Middle East. One that is dynamic enough to support home-grown markets and brands, many of which are trailblazing on the global stage.
In layman’s terms, this book is meant to coach communication students and newcomers to the advertising and media business in the region of the challenges their ancestors – the pioneers of this business – faced. After all, we do not want them to think that everything was nice, perfect, and efficient.
The book is also meant to demonstrate to multinationals the options that had always been available to them. Options that could have spared them decisions that failed to deliver perfect results and led them to place an incorrect label on a region with promising potential. Moreover, the book also aims to demonstrate to multinationals that, although the scene of this story might point to a common culture, language, history, and heritage; the underlying truth is one of many differences within this same geography.
I hasten to remind readers that my role in the current context is that of a storyteller. Over the years I have observed, and now I am telling the story as I remember its details. If any of my readers does not agree or dislike what I have written, please keep in mind that each person can recite the incidents the way he saw them. There should never be restrictions on storytelling.
This book is not a history book and has not been written in a systematic chronological order. It tells the stories of markets, clients, and communication disciplines independently, maintaining the focus on each. Most important is the observation that this is a book whose hero is the advertising industry in the Middle East and North Africa. Not the biography of its author. It is however, one man’s narrative of the incidents he saw and experienced during his half-century journey.
As books of this nature cannot be based on personal observations and an individual’s memory only, almost all the stories in this book were vetted by the mentioned individuals or senior company executives when the story of clients is told. Whenever available, the stories have been supported by references.
Although the backdrop for most of this story is Arabia, the book has been written in English as it is meant for an international audience. Since we are concluding this introduction by addressing the subject of language, I would want all my readers to note that I have personally written the entire book, so this is my own language. Not the language of an editor or co-writer.
Ramzi Raad, June 2022