5 Minutes with… Karim Sherif
Karim Sherif is the executive creative director at Magnitude Creative, a young independent agency in the UAE. Founded in Abu Dhabi, it’s building a more human way to do business, swapping silos and red tape for direct communication, and transactional relationships for hands-on partnerships.
When he joined the agency last year, Karim brought with him almost two decades of experience spanning the UAE, Egypt, and even a stint in Hong Kong. He began as a copywriter, and has since gone on to to hold leading creative roles at STARZPLAY, Havas Middle East, M&C Saatchi UAE, Ogilvy, Impact BBDO, and DDB, tackling high-profile accounts such as Coca-Cola, IKEA, Mars, adidas, Reckitt, and more.
Now, Karim is looking to shape bold, meaningful work with clients that aren’t afraid to take risks, and a killer agency that poses major competition to others in the region. Getting to know the ECD this week, LBB’s Zara Naseer learnt more about his views on creative leadership in MENA, his experience across indie and network agencies, and why he wants to build a “psychological zone for dangerous thoughts.”
LBB> Growing up, were there any signs as to the career path you’d end up taking?
Karim> When you grow up in icy cold Glasgow, Scotland, you probably need to rely on imagination to get through the boredom doldrums. As an early ‘80s millennial kid, I was attracted like a moth to a flame to music from ‘Top of the Pops’ on the telly. The videos back then were stunning with rich stories. Whether it was Duran Duran, The Cure, Killing Joke, or Guns N’ Roses, I wondered, who comes up with these scenarios and stories? I knew then that I wanted to perhaps land in Hollywood, be spat off the Greyhound bus, and find a job as a small-time music video director. It was the combination of the arts that all intertwined with seamless flow, music, art, writing, storytelling. Add to that a media-bred Egyptian household, where my grandfather was a sports commentator and my grandmother ran the national TV station, so the signals weren’t subtle.
LBB> In the early days of your career, were there any projects that particularly helped develop and fine-tune your creative eye?
Karim> I’d be lying if I didn’t say that every single project throughout my journey hadn’t had some sort of dramatic, sitcom-level predicament from inception to execution. But coming out of each one was a truly invigorating experience of knowledge. Coca-Cola taught me scale and rhythm. But I’d say a truly satisfying moment was IKEA’s ‘Buy With Your Time’. It was just a simple brainstorm session. I was complaining that I’d spent the whole day at IKEA shopping for a new sofa, and then it hit me. Proud to say it jumpstarted e-commerce creative rhetoric today.
LBB> What’s the best example of UAE advertising, in your opinion?
Karim> You judge a country’s personality by its advertising. The UAE as a country is one big creative hub in itself. You wake up in the morning and there is always something new and most likely impossible to achieve, but they achieve it. The first Arabian launch to the red planet. The world’s largest AI server farm. The first Disneyland in the Middle East. You can’t ignore the proof over the promise.
LBB> What's your proudest career moment so far?
Karim> Ranking #2 Creative Director in the region by The One Club was big. But my favourite is watching a young team I mentored walk on stage after winning the Cannes Young Lions competition. It’s the creative version of hearing your kid play a song they wrote and it slaps.
LBB> When it comes to advertising, what can the rest of the world learn from the UAE?
Karim> Velocity, ferocity, and ambition without apology. The ability to navigate so many cultures and nationalities is not easy. Clients tend to be extra cautious, and teams come from radically creative countries such as Brazil, Germany, Lebanon, or Egypt. They all battle and try to bridge pop-cultural innovation with data. But this is what makes the UAE unique, as well as the Arab country with the most creative award wins. ‘They’ve done it again!’ That’s what they say.
What anyone can learn from experiencing UAE advertising is the business of human patience, tolerance, resourcefulness, and comfort with creative discomfort. Not every great idea needs immediate proof of performance.
LBB> As a creative leader, how do you strive to bring out creativity in others?
Karim> I try to build a psychological zone for dangerous thoughts. It’s important to keep energy levels up and have everyone in the agency as excited as the creative crafting the next big idea. I push for ownership so people fight for their ideas, and stress-test them over and over until every hole of doubt is plugged.
My favorite tool is: “What would make this unavoidable?” It shifts teams from good to inevitable. And my favorite phrase is: “Explain it in one line.” That one was taught to me by one of my favourite mentors.
LBB> What’s the toughest part about being an ECD? What’s the most rewarding?
Karim> It’s switching roles mid-flight. You’ve got brand therapy in the morning, production briefings by lunch, P&L at 4pm, crisis at 6pm, inspiration by 9pm, if the team can keep up. It’s not a matter of perfect time management, but it requires range and a resting heart rate.
Now, I’m not saying I follow these qualities to the tee, there is always the occasional passionate outbreak to defend the great from the gross. But I will tell you this: what’s really rewarding is having even just one person from any of the teams saying, ‘I’ve learnt so much, thank you!’ That’s probably as great as hearing the crowd roar and Juan Señor reading out your name on stage at Cannes Lions.
LBB> What’s been the biggest change you’ve noticed since moving away from network agencies?
Karim> Networks have scale, systems, and a beautiful score of metals and magnificent minds. Independents have proximity to the moment. A quick inspiration, like writing a song – you hear an idea, you play it, you adjust in real time, and you feel the room breathe. Fewer memos. More music.
Also, acquiring new business and building client relations in a network feels cold and calculated. When it’s done with a smaller team over a late-night coffee, the win feels sweeter.
LBB> Outside of work, what's inspiring you right now?
Karim> It gets harder to answer this question in 2025. What inspired me in 2009 doesn’t necessarily work today. Our neurons are constantly fried with information overload from social media to now AI, and how everyone is panicking about what to make of it, especially in our industry.
I find [AI] quite inspiring, honestly. It may not be perfect, but it surely does act as a jet booster. We are in the age of ‘speedspiring’, where informational chaos can be archived, guided, and channeled to create broader and better work.
But to put it simply: human genius, the complexity of our emotions, the spirit of our perseverance, and the beauty of simplicity are powerful enough to inspire each and every one of us to create something meaningful.
