IAA Lebanon - International Advertising Association

The Chapter was founded by Mounir Takchi. Takchi is considered by many in the industry to have been the godfather of modern advertising in Lebanon. Mounir gathered a group of young advertising people in Lebanon to present a petition for the creation of an IAA Lebanon Chapter.

Twenty-five ad professionals were in fact signatories to the petition for the creation of the IAA Lebanon Chapter. The chapter was officially recognized in 1963 at the IAA World Congress in Madrid attended by Takchi, Fouad Pharaon, Jean Rizk, Elie Kai, Rafic Habib, Amine Ladiki, René Trad, and Samir Fares. Once formed, Takchi was appointed as the chapter's first president, while the first vice-president for the Middle East was Fouad Pharaon, who was replaced by Jean Rizk in 1968. When Jean Rizk passed away, another Lebanese, Samir Fares was elected Vice-President for the Middle East and Africa and was also a member of the Executive Committee of the IAA World Council.

Shortly after the formation of the Lebanon Chapter, the founding committee immediately started recruiting members and organizing several functions to promote the industry. Takchi was very proactive in this, encouraging professionals to join to benefit from the association's services and international gateways at such a formative moment in the country's history.

The creation IAA Lebanon Chapter came at a crucial moment in the expansion of the advertising industry, poised as it was for a boom. The 60s in the Middle East was a time of growth, and Lebanon's advertisers shared and molded that growth. By the mid 60s and 70s, Lebanon became the hub and heart of advertising in the Arab world. Advertising agencies mushroomed, international and local brands flooded the marketplace, and budgets started to increase.

The IAA World Congresses, held every two years in a different part of the world, were also of paramount importance at the time. These Congresses were not just about networking with an impressive gathering of IAA members from advertising, media, or big brand companies from around the world. They were also formative opportunities to hear world-renowned executives give talks and seminars. The mere fact of being exposed and having access to a wealth of information, marketing communication companies' gurus, emerging ideas, and technologies, as well as discovering how the profession was being conducted in other countries based on laws and regulations that the IAA stood for, was an invaluable education for many young Lebanese professionals. Realizing the value of such exposure and seeking recognition on the international scene, more and more industry professionals joined the IAA and attended congresses.

The IAA was instrumental in conveying and imparting to Lebanese professionals the ethics that should be applied in what was being communicated in advertisements. It also played a major part in creating a sense of community life between advertisers, advertising agencies and media, which is the basic triangle that forms the IAA itself. By 1965, the Lebanon Chapter had surpassed others, becoming the chapter with the highest per capita members. As early as 1968, they were even considering a bid to hold a World Congress in Beirut. IAA archives reveal that the minister of Information at the time, Sheikh Nagib Alameddine had promised the full support of the Lebanese Government in case the International Advertising Association decided to hold its 1968 Congress in Beirut.

The IAA Lebanon Chapter's history is marked by several successes, and it has been one of the most dynamic chapters in the IAA global network. The highlights of its success on the international level include the election of five Lebanese admen to the post of IAA Worldwide President: Samir Fares in 1988; Mustapha Assaad from 1992 to 1994; Jean-Claude Boulos from 2002 to 2004; Joseph Ghossoub from 2006 to 2008 and Faris Abouhamad from 2013 to 2015. Five world presidents in the space of thirty years is no small feat, and certainly a testament to the perseverance of Lebanese ad men on both the local and international scene, despite the challenges of war, displacement, and uncertainty.

In addition, of the 13 vice presidents/area directors Middle East and Africa since 1961, 11 have been Lebanese. Fouad Pharaon (1961-1968), Jean Rizk (1968-1974), Samir Fares (1974-1988), Mustapha Assad (1988-1990), Ramzi Raad (1990-1992), Jean-Claude Boulos (1996-1998), Joseph Ghossoub (1988-2004), Marwan Rizk (2004-2008), Sami Raffoul (2008-2010), Faris Abouhamad (2010 -2012), Saad El Zein (2013-2015).

On the home front, presidents and members regularly held seminars and conferences on advertising related topics, inviting top-notch speakers to Lebanon. In 1967 for example, members planned and staged a three-day seminar on “Marketing and Advertising in the Middle East,” the first of its kind in the region. However, the most important part of the chapter's focus of activities was regarding the formulation of rules and regulations to aid the development of the industry at every level, to safeguard the interests of agencies, media, and clients, and avoid - as much as possible - under-dealings and unethical practices or counterproductive methods that would be detrimental to the survival of the industry in the long term. Though the IAA does not and did not have any executive powers to implement or enforce rules or regulations, it does however promote and impart such guidelines and principles.

The Golden Age of Lebanon was brought to an abrupt end in 1975 with the outbreak of civil war.

The civil war disrupted the unity of the IAA in Lebanon as many of its members were forced to leave the country. Most established themselves abroad where they applied their know-how and business acumen, particularly in the Arab countries, creating as it were the nucleus from which the advertising industry in the Arab world developed into what it is today. Other stayed behind, learning to co-exist with the reality of war throughout the late 70s, 80s, and early 90s.

This group included Guerrovich, Nahi Ghorayeb, Kazan, and a few others. The IAA thus moved forward and in 1977, Tackhi, Fares and Guerrovich gathered the remnants of advertisers left in Lebanon and created a new board, with Guerrovich being nominated president from 1977-1980. Starting in the late 70s, there emerged a new generation of presidents who were extremely active during the war and post war period. In 1981, L'Orient-Le Jour's newspaper director Camille Menassa took over the reins. Mustapha Assad of Publi-Graphics replaced him in 1983 and two years later, Jean Claude Boulos of Inter-Régies was voted president. Boulos was one of the most active members of the IAA, being elected president four times (86/91/93/99). In February of 1988, Arab Ad publisher Walid Azzi became the IAA president. The two other presidents of this generation were Ramsay Najjar (elected in 1995) and Ibrahim Tabet (elected in 1997). Azzi was elected president again in 2000, inheriting the heavy responsibility of organizing the 38th World Congress in Beirut.

Despite the difficulties of war and continued displacement, these presidents as well as other chapter members such as Antoine Choueiri, Amine Kassouf, and Elie Kai, were tireless in their support and initiatives. These IAA warriors doubled their efforts to actively participate in all IAA World Congresses from 1978 onwards, driven as they were by a common vision: safeguarding the existence and recognition of their industry and country - so that Lebanon would not disappear from the world scene or lose the international standing it had so gloriously gained between 1961-1975. The Lebanese nights they sponsored at various congresses were amongst the most successful and talked about events. Notable was the Congress in Tokyo in 1984 where the Chapter hosted a gala dinner during which a message of goodwill from the President of Lebanon, Amine Gemayel, was delivered. Another extraordinary Lebanese sponsored night was the final evening of the 1986 Chicago Congress with Ella Fitzgerald's performance sponsored by the Lebanon Chapter. Other memorable events include the Lebanese nights at the Congress in Barcelona in 1992, in Cairo in 1998, London in 2000 and Dubai in 2008.

The IAA Lebanon Chapter's bid to make an impact on the international scene was indeed successful, throughout the 80s and 90s. The highest recognition of their efforts during this era came through the Chapter being awarded the prestigious Golden Tulip in 1988 during the World Congress in Sydney - a distinction that rewards the best and most active chapter in the world - which was received by Walid Azzi, Chapter president at the time.

In 1991, with the end of the civil war and under the initiative of Mustapha Assad, the Chapter organized an international conference in Beirut, entitled “Gateways to Reconstruction in Lebanon.” This seminar gathering political and business leaders was created to promote Lebanon's revival.

The creation of award competitions such as the 'IAA/LBC Phenix TV Awards' in 1993 by Rony Jazzar from AVM (LBC media representative) added to the glamour of the IAA Lebanon Chapter and created a strong sense of competition, especially as regards creativity. This in turn contributed greatly to motivating creatives in Lebanon to develop that side of advertising and to making the industry the hub of creativity in the Arab world.

In 2000, Lebanon won its bid to hold the 38th IAA World Congress in Beirut in 2002. Held at the BIEL conference center, over 1,500 people attended the Congress, during which Carlos Ghosn was elected man of the year. More than 20 speakers from all around the world presented several topics. During the event, Jean Claude Boulos formally took over the post of IAA Worldwide President.

The Congress in Beirut was a great success on many levels. Despite the negative backlash that 9/11 had on the Arab World, and the absence of the American delegation - nonetheless represented by the attendance of Michael Lee, IAA Vice President/President Elect - the congress allowed Lebanon to regain something of its past aura and set the stage for its bid to reclaim the position and importance it had lost to Dubai's advertising industry during the war years. The Congress also provided the Lebanese chapter with much needed financial returns to help fund its future programs and initiatives.

The choice of a new president representing this generation logically fell on Rony Jazzar of AVM (2003/2005); a very active board member since 1991 and the founder of the IAA Phenix Award (1993). Starting in 2003, new faces were elected to the board, and new presidents were elected - Dani Richa of Impact/BBDO (2005/2007 and 2007/2009), George Jabbour of FP7 (2009/2011) and Naji Boulos of Memac Ogilvy (2011/2013) first son of a past IAA President to be elected worldwide. They were followed by Joe Ayache (2013/2015), Naji Irani (2015/2017) and then Joe Ayache again (2017/2023). In 2023, Naji Boulos was elected for another term of two years, The new generation of leaders were faced with several challenges, especially as of 2005, when Lebanon was thrown into a whole new array of political troubles (the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006, the internal armed conflicts in 2008, government paralysis…). Despite this volatile environment, the Chapter conducted several events such as the re-launch of the 'Phenix Awards' in 2004 after an absence of 5 years, the sponsorship of the 'MENA Cristal Award', a marked presence at the 'Dubai World Congress', the hosting of Mikhael Gorbachev at the 'MENA Cristal Award', and the launch of the IAA 50th anniversary jubilee festivities that witnessed the launching of the book under the stewardship of Naji Boulos president of the chapter, “Lebanon Communicating : 50 years of history and achievements”.

In 2019, Lebanon faced an unprecedented economic crisis that sparked the October 17 Revolution. Subsequently, the challenges intensified with the impact of Covid-19 and the devastating explosion at the Port of Beirut on August 4th, 2020. These crises resulted in the closure of over 30 media outlets and a substantial loss of members within the local chapter due to relocations or businesses halting operations.

Amidst this adversity, the IAA members elected Naji Boulos as president in May 2023. Embracing the theme of revival to rejuvenate the advertising industry, Boulos initiated the IAA Lebanon Hall of Fame—an endeavor aimed at celebrating and honoring advertising visionaries and legends."