BLUP MEETS: Fouad Hammoud
Come As You Are: Fouad Hammoud on culture, candour and carving your lane.
AKQA creative director, illustrator and Cultur=D podcast co-host, Fouad Hammoud, speaks straight. From Cairo to London, his journey cuts through buzzwords and gets to what matters: stories that feel lived, not manufactured. In this BLUP MEETS, Fouad shares how to turn identity into fuel, why assimilation kills ideas, and the practical moves young creatives can make to rise with purpose.
// Dines: Who are you and what do you do?
Fouad: I am Fouad, a creative director at AKQA, father of two, illustrator and co-host of the Cultur=D podcast. I studied Mass Communications, moved from journalism into copywriting, and built a career across Egypt, Germany and the UK. That mix shaped how I think. I am interested in ideas that travel across cultures without losing their truth. The podcast began because my co-host and I felt people were tiptoeing around the real conversations. We wanted to talk plainly about names, language, identity and the invisible rules people are pressured to follow at work. I believe creativity should make space for who you are, not squeeze you into a mould. My role is to help teams find the human thread in any brief, then craft it with clarity. I care about work that connects, leadership that lifts, and a community that grows together.
// Dines: When did you realise the power of storytelling?
Fouad: My first taste was a film script for a cereal brand in my first agency. I had to avoid the usual smiling kid trope and speak to parents with something real. That was the start. The lesson grew as I moved from Cairo to Hamburg to London. In Egypt, one joke lands for everyone. In London, culture is layered, so you learn to decide who you are speaking to and why. Storytelling became about listening first. I collect small, true moments from people in pubs, on trains, in studios, then translate them into ideas. The aim is to make someone say, I know that feeling. The best stories are not louder, they are more specific. They honour detail, accent and rhythm. When you respect those details, you unlock universality. That is when story turns into recognition, and recognition turns into action.
// Dines:Why did you launch the Cultured podcast, and what change do you hope it sparks?
Fouad: Cultur=D started with one word: no. We were in a workshop where assimilation was suggested as the way to get on. Both of us typed no at the same time. Why should creative people flatten themselves to fit a single template when our industry thrives on difference. From there we began talking honestly about names, accents, language, second languages, and the quiet rules that tell people to shrink. We wanted to show juniors you can bring your whole self and still be excellent. We also wanted senior leaders to hear what is being felt but not said. The podcast pushes for representation that is visible at the top and meaningful in hiring, resourcing and promotion. It is not angry for the sake of noise. It is direct, practical and hopeful. The change I want is simple. More leaders who look like the teams, and teams who feel free to sound like themselves.
// Dines: What is the one change advertising needs most right now?
Fouad: We need to stop chasing shiny tools and start backing human stories with diverse leadership. AI is useful, but it cannot replace lived experience. Tech for tech’s sake ages fast. Craft anchored in truth does not. I want rooms where strategy, creative and production reflect the cultures we are trying to reach. That shift improves the brief before it becomes a script or a mock. It also improves how we measure success, because someone in the room will ask, who is this really for. Give juniors permission to show up as themselves. Give them mentors who open doors, not gatekeepers who police tone. Build processes that value bilingual thinking, subcultural fluency and community insight. If we fix who is at the table and how decisions are made, the work will naturally become fresher, braver and more useful.
// Dines: Your advice to young creatives struggling to find their voice in a system not built for them
Fouad: Find a mentor who shares your values, not just your job title. Ask for time to talk, not for a job. Keep notes on what you learn and apply it. Do not assimilate to survive. Stand out to grow. Back yourself with a side hustle. It gives you a space that is fully yours, without client notes or internal politics. That work becomes your signature and shows your taste when portfolios start to look the same. Be daring in how you present your identity. Bilingual. Third culture. Subculture fluent. Use it. Build a small circle of peers who will give you unfiltered feedback and push you to raise your level. Learn how agencies really work. Understand production, budgets and timelines so your ideas can live. Most of all, keep making. Momentum beats perfection. Your voice gets clearer through consistent output, not waiting for a perfect brief.
// Dines: Finish the sentence: “The future of advertising is…”
Fouad: The future of advertising is diverse voices. Not as a slogan, but as standard practice in hiring, leadership and creative decisions. It means rooms where names are pronounced correctly, ideas are judged fairly, and lived experience is treated as expertise. It means bilingual minds shaping strategy, and subculture natives guiding the work that speaks to their communities. It means side hustles being welcomed because they reveal craft and conviction. It means using technology as a tool, not a crutch. It means seniors pulling others up, not closing ranks. When people feel safe to be themselves, the thinking gets sharper, the writing gets truer, and the images get bolder. That is how we move from ticking boxes to building culture.
