Chaka Sobhani’s anti-misery mandate

Before entering adland, Chaka Sobhani spent more than a decade as an award-winning filmmaker and TV creative, launching ITV’s first in-house creative agency and helping the broadcaster win Channel of the Year for the first time. 

She later held senior creative roles at Mother and Leo Burnett, where she became Global CCO and helped the London office win Campaign’s Agency of the Year twice consecutively. In 2024, she moved to Omnicom as President and Global Chief Creative Officer of DDB Worldwide, before becoming Chief Creative Officer at TBWA\Worldwide at the end of 2025. She’s known for her work with brands such as McDonald’s, Disney, Coca-Cola, Google, Samsung and Volkswagen… and for being a right good laugh. 

People can quickly sniff out bullshit and rightfully so – they’ll reject virtue signalling or jumping on band wagons.  

In your role as head of the jury for the Dan Wieden Titanium Lions this year at Cannes you will be seeking work that recognises game-changing creativity. Can you expand on that?  

When an award has Dan Wieden’s name next to it, you know it’s about looking for the very best of best. Not just in the context of the past year, but in terms of how ideas are shaping and changing the boundaries of creativity in the future. That’s the exciting part – seeing something truly original and disruptive, something that pushes us forward and opens our minds. 

I think everyone’s trying to find a definitive answer to what “modern creativity” is, as if you can package it up and go “here you go”, but that’s madness and also deeply uninteresting.

People talk about advertising that leads cultural change rather than just reflecting it. How far do you think brands should go in guiding culture and are there any moral concerns regarding this?  

I think you have to be clear about what you’re trying to change and why, and whether a brand genuinely has a role in that change. People can quickly sniff out bullshit and rightfully so – they’ll reject virtue signalling or jumping on band wagons.  

Let’s be honest, it’s the hardest thing to impact or be part of culture in some meaningful way, let alone change it. That said, that’s obviously the dream if done for the right reasons. We all want to move people in a way that makes them feel, think or behave differently. But the intention is key.  

Tell me about the formation of your Titanium jury - it’s great, and seems particularly important right now, that Lebanon is represented for the first time.  

Lisa Berlin [Cannes Lions Global Jury Director] and the whole Cannes crew do such an incredible job each year of bringing together interesting and diverse juries across all the categories. And this year’s Titanium jury is no exception, especially with Nayla [Tueni, CEO and Editor in Chief at Annahar Media Group] representing Lebanon for the first time. I was honestly buzzing when I first saw the list and having had a few introductory chats, I couldn’t be more excited to be part of this crew. 

I’m excited to get in a room together and hear all the different points of view, to debate fiercely, talk ideas and learn from each other.  

This year at Cannes you will be talking about “modern creativity”, the automation of taste and the intersection of human intuition and AI in production – can you give us a sneak peek of your thoughts on this?  

I wish I was going to give you something earth shattering here but I think the principles to great creative ideas remain timeless - the “modern” parts are all the new ways we can get there, and the new spaces and places we can now play in. 

I think everyone’s trying to find a definitive answer to what “modern creativity” is, as if you can package it up and go “here you go”, but that’s madness and also deeply uninteresting.  

It’s about old, new, rediscovered, undiscovered and everything in between. It’s all additive and ever changing, and that’s exciting. I’m so fucking bored of all the doomsday headlines that our industry and creativity is dead - it’s not. Far from it. 

In an interview with shots in 2022 you said “Life is heavy, life is tough. I’m not making work for our industry, I’m making work for someone to genuinely enjoy and laugh at.” Can advertising creativity help or hinder a world in distress?  

I would hope our aim is always to help and alleviate, and never to hinder.  

But when times are tougher, I think you’ve got to have even greater emotional intelligence and sensitivity. It has to feel appropriate to what audiences are going through and experiencing, and we need to turn up in the right moments and places. Ultimately, giving some sense of hope or joy or relief, if done right, is never a bad thing. 

I’ve worked in both indies and global networks, and not just in advertising but in production and TV also. And, simply put, I think there’s room for everyone. 

As a kid you grew up watching old movies and your first love professionally was directing, do you have time for any creative pursuits in your new role?

Absolutely – it’s a necessity to my heart feeling good and, hopefully, to me being better at what I do. You’ve just got to be a bit more creative and disciplined about how you use your time. 

Film time on planes, downloading things onto my phone to catch up in random moments (or over a ciggie – don’t judge), listening to music or podcasts on walks between places – you can always find time somewhere for the things you love and need. 

You also told us you were “naughty” and “cheeky” at school, do you think naughty cheekiness, has helped you achieve icon status in your career, when, quite frankly the odds are stacked against a woman of colour in this industry? 

I don’t think I would ever call myself an icon of anything to be honest.  

At best, I hope I help create environments and cultures that allow people to be the best versions of themselves, and I think having a perspective about what we do and being able to keep things light when needed is important. But a sense of humour has definitely been helpful and vital when dealing with some of the inevitable shit I’ve had to face, like any woman of colour. 

Is enough being done in the industry to welcome underrepresented people?  

Honestly, no. Have we made some progress? Yes. 

Is it enough? Absolutely not. Is it at the top of agendas in the way it needs to be? No. Are we talking about it enough? Sadly not, again. 

I’m not casting blame – it’s a collective problem but a very real one. And until this issue sits at the top of every company’s agenda – alongside making money – the rate of change will continue to be as slow as it has been and, ultimately, we will be much less creative as a result.  

At our best, I think this industry still attracts and grows some of the most curious and creative people...

What are your thoughts about the competitive landscape between independent shops and global networks?  

I’ve worked in both indies and global networks, and not just in advertising but in production and TV also. And, simply put, I think there’s room for everyone. 

There are challenges for both sides and, ultimately, I think you determine where you work by the people there, the opportunities available and the type of work you can create.  

I don’t think that one is good and one is bad. I don’t think anyone wants one-size-fits-all, and I think there’s bloody great work coming out of both.