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In the spotlight
What does it take to make advertising do more than sell? For Fizza Shah, Chief Creative Officer at Digitz Digitas Pakistan, it starts with the stories brands choose to tell and the voices they bring to the table. Having worked on some of the biggest local and global brands, from her time at IAL Saatchi & Saatchi to leading Digitz Digitas Pakistan, Fizza brings a wealth of experience in creativity and leadership. In conversation with ROAR Collective, she reflects on the experiences that shaped her and the possibilities still ahead.
What’s your story?
I still have a few of my childhood sketchbooks tucked away somewhere. They’re full of characters I used to draw from cereal boxes. Looking back, I suppose the signs were there, although at the time it was just something I enjoyed doing. I never imagined that years later I’d be working on brands, designing their packaging and, in a funny way, coming full circle back to those cereal boxes.
Like any typical Pakistani family, there was always a strong focus on doing well academically and choosing a “good” career. I was lucky to go to a good school, but there wasn’t really much career guidance around figuring out what you actually wanted to do. So when Media Studies was introduced as an A Level subject, I picked it almost out of curiosity. It was very different from the usual business or science routes, and something about it clicked with me.
My mother, of course, still had her heart set on IBA, so I did all the test prep and classes and gave it a shot. And, much to my relief, I didn't get in!
Instead, I ended up at SZABIST studying Media Sciences, in one of the earlier batches when I think most of us were figuring out what this whole “media” world was going to become. That’s where I started getting exposed to design, visual communication and eventually advertising.
Initially, I thought I wanted to be a designer. But as I got deeper into advertising, I realised what really excited me was what happened behind the design, the idea and the story. I loved that you could take something as simple as a human observation and turn it into an idea that could make people feel something.
I was very lucky when I started my advertising journey because I got to work on brands I genuinely loved, from fashion to food, and I had some wonderful mentors who shaped the way I thought about creativity. They gave me the space to learn, make mistakes and develop my own point of view.
When I look back, it feels less like I had a grand plan and more like I kept following things that made me curious. Somehow, the girl drawing cereal box characters ended up working on the brands themselves.
You rose through the ranks at Saatchi & Saatchi over nearly a decade, from Creative Manager to ECD. What did that journey teach you about leadership?
I think I was quite lucky in how quickly I moved through the ranks at IAL Saatchi & Saatchi. My work was recognised, I was given the right opportunities at the right time, and I had people who trusted me enough to let me prove myself. Looking back, that was a big part of the journey.
From a leadership point of view, one of the biggest things I learnt from the leaders I worked with was that your job is to recognise the strengths in the people around you and then give them the space and confidence to use them.
You don't need everyone to work the same way or have the same strengths.
As I've moved into leadership myself, I've realised that you also have to keep evolving. The people you lead change, generations change and the way people work changes. You can't lead everyone in exactly the same way you were led. You have to adapt too.
What advice would you give your younger self at the start of your creative journey?
I think I would tell her to speak her mind more.
I was always quite opinionated, but I don't think I always said what I was thinking, especially when I was younger. You sometimes assume the more senior person in the room knows better, or that your opinion isn't quite ready yet.
With time, I've realised that having a point of view is one of the most important things you can bring to the table.
Even if you're wrong, it's better to put the thought out there and have a conversation around it.
So I'd tell her not to hold back so much. Say what you think, ask the uncomfortable question and don't worry too much about whether everyone agrees with you. And honestly, enjoy the ride a bit more too. You don't have to have everything figured out.
You describe creativity as the power to move hearts, shift culture, and spark change. Which piece of your own work stands out as the moment you felt that power most clearly?
For me, it's difficult to pick one piece of work. The work that stays with me is when an idea can start a conversation or make people look at something a little differently. I've been lucky to work with brands that were bold enough to take those chances.
As a feminist at heart, I've particularly valued the work we've done over the years for brands like Tapal, National Foods and Dawlance. We've had the opportunity to play a small part in changing how women are represented, sometimes through very simple things, like taking them out of the kitchen and showing them in roles beyond the usual domestic ones, or even showing their husbands joining them in the kitchen.
Fizza's showcase
The conversation has also changed a lot over the last decade. Social media has given people a much louder voice and opened up conversations that perhaps wouldn't have happened so openly before. Brands have had to listen, and advertising has had to become more real and relevant too.
I like to think I played a small part in that shift, and that's something I'm proud of. When you see a different kind of story slowly becoming normal, you realise advertising can actually influence culture. And I think that's pretty cool.
Is there a piece of work by someone else that made you think "I wish I had made that"?
There are quite a few. I'm particularly drawn to work that is smart in the way it uses technology or a brand's assets to create something unexpected. Stella Artois' The Artois Probability is a good example. They used data and an algorithm to look at historic paintings and work out the probability that the beer being depicted was actually Stella Artois. I loved that they brought together two worlds that feel so far apart, technology and history, and made them work together in such an unexpected way.
I think that's what I admire most. You see an idea and think, "Why didn't I think of that?" But getting to something that feels that effortless is actually quite hard. So many ideas have potential but get overthought, complicated or killed in the boardroom.
The best work, for me, is when the thinking is strong and the execution is really well thought through, but you don't feel all that thinking when you see the final idea. It just works. Those are the ones that make me wish I'd made them.
You've mentored and judged emerging talent through The One Club's Young Guns. What do you look for in young creatives?
I want to see someone who is genuinely interested in the world around them, someone who notices things, asks questions and wants to understand why people behave the way they do.
You can teach someone the craft, but curiosity is much harder to teach. I think the best young creatives are constantly looking, listening and questioning things. They don't just accept things as they are. They want to know why. For me, that's usually where the interesting ideas come from.
As a woman leading creative teams in Pakistan, what have been your biggest challenges, and what changes would you still like to see for women and emerging talent?
I actually think there is a lot of positive change to acknowledge here.
There are many women creatives in our industry who are doing extremely well, leading teams, winning work and being respected for what they bring to the table. I've had the privilege of working with many of them, and I think we have some very good examples in Pakistan.
So, I wouldn't want to tell a story that women in our industry are constantly struggling to be heard. That hasn't been my experience. I think the next step is making sure women continue to get the opportunities to lead, make important decisions and shape the industry. The same goes for young talent coming through. There is a lot of talent around us. Sometimes people just need someone to give them their first real opportunity.
What would your dream collaboration look like, and who would it be with, living or not?
I'd probably say Wes Anderson.
I've always loved how his films sit somewhere between film, design and storytelling. Every frame feels considered, from the composition and colour to the sets and costumes, but it never feels like design for design's sake. It all helps tell the story.
That really connects with me because I started out being interested in design and then found my way into storytelling through advertising. I've also thought about directing at some point, so I'd love to spend time with someone who has such a distinctive visual language and see what we could create together.
You recently became CCO at Digitz Digitas. What drew you to this next chapter?
Honestly, the opportunity to ‘build something’ was a big part of it.
I've spent many years making work and leading creative teams, and going into a CCO role, I also wanted to get more involved in the business and operational side of things. I wanted to understand how the organisation works as a whole, how different disciplines come together and how we need to evolve as an agency.
The industry is changing incredibly quickly, particularly with AI. I don't think agencies can keep doing things the way they've always done them. We have to rethink how we work, what we offer and how we structure teams if we want to stay relevant.
So for me, this chapter is really about helping an organisation transition into something that is better set up for where the industry is going, while keeping the quality of the work and the creative culture at the heart of it.
Finally, what's next for you? Any stories, ideas, or brands you're excited to build?
There are a few things I've been thinking about for a while.
I'd like to do more work around subjects that are difficult to talk about, especially where there is a lack of understanding. Autism in Pakistan is one of them. There is so much misunderstanding around it, and I'd love to find a way to tell those stories in a way that is human and makes people look at the subject differently.
I've also been thinking more seriously about directing at some point. And then there is the work I'm doing now, building an organisation and building people. I don't have a very fixed idea of what the next few years should look like. I'm happy to see where these ideas take me.