Ghada Azzi, the woman behind ArabAd’s distinctive and unfiltered voice, has built her editorial approach around honesty, independence and a sharp eye on the advertising industry. Leading the publication since her father’s passing in November 2018, she has addressed difficult conversations while navigating the tension between editorial responsibility and commercial interests.
For Ghada, journalism means staying curious, asking uncomfortable questions and looking beyond the polished image. That perspective also shapes her understanding of brands: emotional connection matters, but purpose must be reflected in consistent action.
In this Q&A, Ghada Azzi discusses the truths advertising often leaves unspoken, the unexpected opportunity that shaped her career and the personal lessons she had to unlearn. She also shares why research should come before networking and what Gen Z understands about earning attention.
Ghada Azzi: What is the most uncomfortable truth about the advertising industry that no one talks about?
Harassment, and the culture of silence around it.
When the conversation about harassment was trending across industries, advertising was remarkably quiet. Yet we knew cases were happening inside agencies, and many people were simply unable or afraid to speak about them. ArabAd was one of the first to address the issue openly, and it became one of our most daring editorial decisions.
But there is another uncomfortable truth: the industry often sugarcoats reality. There is a lot of image management, internal politics and a distorted picture of how agencies and brands actually operate. As media, our responsibility is to look beyond the polished version.
After years of seeing brands come and go, what differentiates the ones people remember from the ones they don’t?
The memorable ones create an emotional connection. They become more than products; they become part of people’s lives and culture. That is what turns a brand into a Lovemark.
But emotion alone isn’t enough. Great brands also have a distinctive identity- the look, the voice, the design, the personality- that makes them instantly recognizable. Think Nike, Apple, McDonald’s, Absolut or Benetton. You can often recognize them before you even see the name.
And increasingly, I believe the brands that matter are the ones that do good while doing business. But purpose cannot be a trend or a campaign tactic. If Goodvertising isn’t rooted in the brand’s DNA and sustained over time, people will see through it.
What career decision looked like a mistake but ended up shaping who you are as a woman today?
Probably the moment when I had the most self-doubt.
I was married and not working when the ArabAd representative in Kuwait asked me if I wanted to produce a special edition there. I had very little experience, almost none in marketing or sales. I had only worked at L’Orient-Express with the late Samir Kassir, who was heading a magazine at L’Orient-Le Jour. My experience was entirely in journalism and writing.
Yet I took it on and ended up handling both the editorial and sales sides. It was extremely successful and, more importantly, it showed me what I was capable of.
I realized I could enter a market, understand it, build something and make it work. That experience eventually led me to start, with my life partner at the time, a full-service event marketing company called The Communication Zone. The company operated successfully for 10 years before I had to return to Lebanon and ArabAd to assist my father with editorial management.
What looked like a completely random opportunity turned out to be the beginning of my career.
I had to unlearn being naive about people.
I used to appreciate everything and everyone, and I expected the same level of honesty, loyalty and effort in return. Over time, I learned that you can appreciate people without expecting anything from them.
I also learned that disappointment is not necessarily failure. Sometimes it is simply information about who people are and how the world works.
If you were starting your career today and you had zero connections, what is the first thing you would do?
I would research before I network.
I would spend time understanding the local market, the people, the companies, the culture and where the gaps are. Reading, research and curiosity are underrated career tools.
Then I would start building connections around something meaningful to say, not simply around the need to meet people. Connections become much more valuable when you bring knowledge, perspective or an idea to the table.
You have led ArabAd since your father’s passing in November 2018. What’s something you almost published and didn’t?
Our investigation into harassment in the advertising industry.
It was one of the most difficult editorial decisions we faced. The original article contained names and detailed accounts, and we knew we were entering territory the industry had largely avoided.
The hesitation wasn’t only editorial. There was a very real tension between editorial independence and commercial interests. The concern was that we could lose advertisers or damage relationships.
Ultimately, I believe a trade publication cannot simply report what is comfortable for its industry. I deliberately try not to think about who our biggest advertisers are when I make editorial decisions. Our job is to observe, question and report, not polish reality.
If we only publish what keeps everyone happy, we are not really doing journalism.
Ghada Azzi: What’s one thing about communication that Gen Z sees that older generations underestimate?
They understand that communication doesn’t have to look serious to be effective.
Older generations can be quick to dismiss platforms like TikTok as shallow or purely entertainment-driven. Gen Z doesn’t see that separation. For them, culture, entertainment, community and marketing are happening in the same space.
The interesting part is that they are actually very good at navigating these platforms and understanding how people behave on them. The mistake is thinking that because a platform looks casual, the communication happening on it is unsophisticated.
Gen Z has understood something the industry is still catching up with: attention is earned differently now.
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