“OMG I love this guy” is not just a title, it’s a new advertising agency that combines two of the most powerful and creative people in the Egyptian Advertising industry. Not just in Egypt, Magued is the most awarded person in the Middle East for his good ideas and brilliant work. While Tameem has over 35 thousand subscribers and more than 4 Million views on his YouTube Channel for his fun, creative videos. We met with those two geniuses to have a little chit-chat about their new company and partnership, and it was no surprise that we really enjoyed their company and their new Coffee Machine coffee!
How did you guys start this partnership and company?
Maged: I was working at many companies for a while until I got bored of working at agencies and decided to take a break and stay home for a while. Then I decided to join a film-making workshop in London, and meanwhile, the idea of starting my own company with Tameem was always on the back of my head.
Tameem: Then I gave him a call and told him I’m ready to leave the agency I work for as well so we could start working together. We’ve always admired each other’s work and career path, and honestly, I couldn’t imagine anyone else I could work with. Magued is brilliant and very creative!
You guys mentioned you were bored of the agencies work, why is that?
Tameem: Because it kills all the fun parts of the job and makes you forget why you ever loved the job at the first place. All the emails, the meetings, the complicated terms, the rules… these things limit your creativity and turn something fun into a boring routine.
Maged: Basically, we are starting this company to work on all the things we love that we couldn’t work on before. We always felt tied up and never had the absolute freedom to do all the things we wanted to do. AsTameem just said, Advertising has 2 sides; the creative fun side that the audience see, and the boring process that we go through. So basically, we are choosing to focus on the fun side only.
Are you planning on growing your company by hiring a good talented team?
Tameem: No, not at all! If we do that, we will be turning into the agencies that we tried so hard to escape from. Right now it’s just the two of us, until we see how it goes.
You just started your own company, how did you land such a big advertising campaign such as Coca-Cola’s WaelGom’aa ad?
Maged: We’ve both worked with Coca-cola before but not together. So they already know our work and trust us.
Tameem: When we started this company, Promo 7 were the first people to approach us to work with us as free lancers.
” We do not plan to give in to clients, and just satisfy them without us being fully satisfied. If you like our work, then don’t try to change it.”
What exactly do you offer your clients?
Tameem: Content, advertising,and directing.
Maged: None of us has actually directed a big project yet, but we do direct the small projects we work on.
Tameem: As creative people, we were always side by side with the directors, adding our thoughts and ideas to the direction so we kind of got the hold of it. From directing to editing, we were always around for the whole process.
So will you always be in charge of those three things while working on a project?
Tameem: Not necessarily. We could be working on the content only or just the directing part. Depends on the jobs we get.
Maged: Now that we have our own company, we are now free to choose whatever we want to work on or the people we want to work with.
Are you also in charge of the production part?
Tameem: So far no, yet we are in charge of the production of our own shows that we are currently working on.
Would you care sharing these shows with us?
Maged: Yes, sure. We are working on a new sit-com that will be different from all the comedy shows that happened in Egypt before. And we will be focusing more on our online show “Raseeni” as well.
Speaking of “Raseeni”, do you plan on taking the show further, maybe showcase it on TV?
Tameem: No never! It will lose all its meaning if we do so. Some things are better left as simple as they are. Even if clients want to sponsor the show, they will sponsor it as it is. We will not accept sponsors who would want to change any of the show’s concepts or else we’ll be giving up what we love for money, and that’s not our goal.
Maged: We do not plan to give in to clients, and just satisfy them without us being fully satisfied. If you like our work, then don’t try to change it.
But do you believe that big clients are open to work with new starting companies like yours, or they wouldn’t take that risk?
Tameem: That’s a great point.Everyone working in the industry now, was once just a beginner. It takes one good job to prove you’re good.
Maged: plus it’s a very small industry, and it’s all about word of mouth. And thank God, any client who worked with us before, trust us and believe in us.
Do you believe creativity is a talent or is it something you can learn?
Tameem: It’s definitely a talent. But you can always nourish it with experience. The more you work, the more you start understanding what the audience want.
How can a director work on an idea given when you were the ones who had the vision for it?
Maged: What makes a director good is interpretation. Interpretation is how he lets himself see the idea. Many of the best advertising directors are who they are now because they understand the concept of portraying an idea or sending a message in a 30 mins ad, that will attract the audience.
