How Nayaab Rais Uses Diversity and Purpose to Shape MENA Advertising

m25 the producer-led network proudly presents our Global Creative Series, to highlight international creativity and the impact of local cultures and technological advancements on creative production throughout the region. This series features interviews with key and exceptional regional creatives, illustrating how individual endeavors, when combined with cultural understanding and team building, shape successful advertising campaigns and real purpose.

In this episode, we travel to Dubai to meet Nayaab Rais, a creative leader whose journey through the UAE and wider MENA region has been anything but ordinary. Born and raised in Bombay, where rickshaws weave through cows like Formula One drivers, Nayaab’s childhood was a masterclass in problem‑solving. When life brought her to the UAE, she had to grow up fast, supporting her family and carving out a career in advertising. But breaking into the industry wasn’t easy. As a young female creative, assumptions often entered the room before her ideas did. Whether it was comments about her hair or judgments about her hijab, Nayaab learned early that the only way to silence the noise was through the work itself.

Q> Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a successful creative leader in the UAE and the wider MENA region? What first inspired you to pursue this career, what challenges did you face carving your niche in such a competitive industry, and which campaign stands out as the most memorable for its impact on the market?

Nayaab> When I had to move to the UAE on account of personal circumstances (where I had to pretty much grow up overnight and figure out how to support my family), advertising was the natural career choice.

Back then, being a junior female creative in the UAE meant assumptions entered the room before your ideas did. I remember the catty comments like “she’s probably just getting by flipping her long, flowing hair.” Then when I started wearing the hijab, others decided I was suddenly “too traditional” or “too boring” for client meetings. It didn’t matter which side I was on... someone always had an opinion. So, I stopped defending myself and thanked them for the compliments on my hair (It’s the papaya shampoo, boys).

Later in my career, I donned my hijab with pride. I learned early that the only thing that truly shuts down the noise is the work. It might take longer, but good work is like gravity... it always pulls the room back to focus. My partner Josephine Younes and I dismantled the bias one brief at a time, becoming the first all-female creative team to bring home a Cannes Lion, the first win for DDB , it has shaped how I lead now: creativity only matters when it creates equity and when it makes space for every voice to feel heard. That belief in equity and diversity also drives the kind of work I love most, like Recipe for Change by Puck (Arla Foods) because it was a business transformation rooted in empathy and equity.

I understand that there's a lot of scepticism around purpose-driven work nowadays but in our region with everything we have going on right now, sometimes the shift from selling to serving is exactly what a brand needs. And in that selfless act ,Arla did well for their business too. Before that, another piece of work taught me about how diversity is our region’s superpower. That’s the 'Remove Labels' campaign for Coca-Cola in 2015. We paired special edition cans with a social experiment that placed a diverse group of strangers in a dark room to show how similar they really are when the lights are off. This was one of the first commercials from our region that went viral globally. And it is still relevant because the world was already polarised back then and literal walls were being built by orange people in power (who are now back in power sadly). But that piece of work is always a reminder for me that we have so much power as a region to shape people’s perspectives not just about us, but also the world.

Q> How have you seen the advertising landscape evolve not only in the UAE but across the MENA region over the past decade or 2, and what factors have driven this change?

Nayaab> Ten years ago, we would often look at examples of great work done abroad, but now the world looks here for it, and I often hear about creatives globally quoting our work or sharing our work as examples. I think that shift started when brands and agencies started trusting the region’s own voice. Our own culture, humour, contradictions, and heart. Digital and social flattened the world’s creative stage a bit so it has given us the chance to tell stories only we could tell, be it about women’s rights and gender equity, major sports events happening in our part of the world, or just culturally nuanced things that are surprising for people to learn.

In what ways is the MENA/UAE positioning itself on the global advertising stage, and what unique strengths does it offer that resonate with international brands and agencies? Can you share a success story that highlights this global impact?
MENA’s strength is its diversity, which I often say is like jet fuel for creativity. In one brainstorming room, you might have 10 nationalities, 8 languages, and 20 opinions. But somehow, we will all align by lunch.

Also, we have so many challenges and problems that we can solve authentically, because of our proximity to the issues, and the understanding and agility we bring. Going back to Recipe for Change… being on the ground during the constant bombing helped us change the entire Ramadan campaign we had going previously. What began as a simple campaign evolution turned into a crisis-response campaign overnight when the supply chains were cut off. What evolved was even more beautiful and grew into a new, worldwide business model that only depended on non-physical assets i.e. their recipes.

Q> How do local cultural values and consumer behaviours across MENA from the Gulf to North Africa influence advertising strategies?

Nayaab> Every country here carries its own rhythm, humour, and invisible social codes. You can’t copy-paste insights and hope they’ll land. Take L’Oréal’s “Sit al Bait” campaign. In Arabic, “Sit Bait” literally translates to “housewife,” but in certain parts of the region it had become an unflattering label, implying a woman who “just stays at home.” So, with the addition of just two Arabic letters, we reframed 'Sit Bait' into 'Sit al Bait,' which means “Woman of the House.” The same phrase that once boxed women in suddenly became a title of pride, respect, and power. We tapped into the cultural tension so many women felt and it turned into a movement that offered them dignity, by answering that challenge through language first.

Q> With the rapid adoption of digital tools and AI, how is technology reshaping advertising processes and outcomes in the UAE and across MENA?

Nayaab> AI is our latest hire in the creative department. So far, it’s been brilliant, and tireless but also incredibly dependent on the rest of the creatives. I use ChatGPT to sort my thoughts, deck flows and even brainstorm so much that we are now on first-name basis (I call him Chad). But AI has also raised the bar for originality. So far, we use AI to support in different ways, and make processes faster, but the last mile i.e. the part of our work that makes people feel something… that still belongs to humans.

Q> What role does social media play in the distribution and impact of brand content in the region, and how are strategies evolving to meet global trends?

Nayaab> I am “giving zero-poster” as my Gen Z creative labelled me, but even I can tell you that social media is at the fulcrum of our lives and we still aren’t using it right. A lot of the content is either a copy of other, more original content, or posted after the trend has already been exhausted, and the sponsored posts still feel very much like ads. If you follow only data, you’ll end up sounding like everyone else. The data is just there to give you direction, but it is creativity, agility and great storytelling that still gives you the right connection with the right people at the right moment.

Q> What advice would you give to young creative talent aspiring to enter the advertising industry in the UAE and the wider MENA region?

Nayaab> Be curious and hungry, like a sponge. Everyone has something to teach you… from the office boy to the CCO. So, check all egos at the door. And learn to take feedback without taking it personally because that’s half the job. You’ll need three skills to be successful: empathy, adaptability, and craft. Everything else changes too fast to be permanent.

Q> The MENA advertising scene is known for its vibrancy and appetite for innovation. How can emerging professionals tap into local trends while still creating work that resonates globally?

Nayaab> The best philosophy is “Local truths. Universally told.” I feel that the magic formula starts specific and then grows universal. So, we start from something deeply local, maybe a ritual, a phrase, or a behaviour, and then ask, “Would this make sense to someone in Tokyo or Toronto?” If the answer is yes, then we know we have found a truth that will travel.

Q> Can you describe an early moment in your career perhaps a mentor, a project, or even a mistake that changed your perspective on advertising?

Nayaab> Oh, I’ve made plenty of mistakes, from overthinking briefs to underestimating simplicity and trying to sound clever instead of being clear. Every one of those mistakes taught me humility, which is the best creative muscle. What helped me learn from those was that every time my mistake was received harshly, I failed further. But when it was met with grace and positivity, and I was made to feel safe… boy, did I turn that around and excel the next round! Now as a psychologist I understand the value of psychological safety in a workplace and try to create an experimental playground for our creatives. One where they can afford to reach for crazy ideas, have a few bad meetings and fail miserably, knowing that I will always support and help them turn that around into something amazing next time around (inshallah!). People never really need critique, they rarely require feedback, most of the time all they need to thrive is just belief and knowing someone will catch them when (not if) they fall. And I try to bring that into my mentorship programs and workshops as well.

Q> What are the key challenges agencies face when expanding services within the UAE and MENA markets, and how have they overcome them?

Nayaab> The biggest challenge is scale without sameness. The thing is, what works in Riyadh might fail in Cairo. Agencies that succeed are the ones that listen first, then localize without diluting. Operationally, it’s about building smart systems that protect people first and then the quality of the work they produce.

Q> Looking ahead, what trends do you predict will shape the region's advertising industry over the next 5 to 10 years? And how can both established agencies and newcomers prepare for what’s coming?

Nayaab> There’s of course a lot of discussion on the inevitable influence of Tech and AI and all of those shiny things, but here is what I would LIKE to see if I was holding the crystal ball:

1. Vulnerability will become a superpower: I think audiences are sick of flawless brands. They want real, honest ones. The work that wins hearts will be the kind that admits mistakes, shows learning, and feels human enough to trust.
2. Collaboration will replace competition. The region’s creative future won’t be built in silos. Agencies big and small, clients, creators, and communities will start working more like collectives than hierarchies.
3. Craft will make a comeback. In the age of instant everything, time and care will stand out. The future will belong to ideas that are not just seen, but felt through their craft.

Q> What’s the most unexpected place you’ve found creative inspiration: the desert, the souk, or maybe just stuck in traffic?

Nayaab> On the road for sure… Nothing sparks an idea faster than near-death experiences on Sheikh Zayed Road.

Q> If advertising wasn’t your career, what do you think you’d be doing instead?

Nayaab> Definitely a psychologist! (Since I am only a part-time therapist for my department as of now and Finance says I am not allowed to charge them for it).

Q> What’s the one thing about working in MENA that always makes you smile, even on the busiest pitch week? Coffee or karak, what fuels your best ideas?

Nayaab> Clients that call me Habibti.

Q> If you could put one UAE cultural tradition into a global ad campaign tomorrow, what would it be and why?

Nayaab> Karak breaks. Because the world needs more five-minute pauses that unite CEOs and cab drivers.

Q> What’s the funniest client feedback you’ve ever received, the kind that made you laugh before you cried?

Nayaab> In my past life I could not keep a straight face through: “We want humour, but serious humour.”

Q> If you had a magic remote control for the industry, would you hit pause, fast forward, or mute?

Nayaab> Mute. Just to hear my own thoughts again.

Q> What’s the one piece of advice you’d give your younger self starting out in advertising apart from “buy Bitcoin early”?

Nayaab> Trust your weird.

Q> When you finally switch off from work, what’s your way to recharge, plotting your next Cannes Lion?

Nayaab> Spending time with my hubby on the finer things in life, you know, like golf, watching our cat ignore us, or the latest episode of Love is Blind (okay, fine, that one I watch alone).