Why GoodPeople’s Ali Ali Swears By 30-Second Ad Spots

Ali Ali, Executive Creative Director at GoodPeople, a production house with arms and legs in Cairo, Dubai, Beirut, Riyadh, and Athens, can be called something of an authority in the world of advertising, given that he has worked in the industry for over 20 years, and his work has clinched more than 73 awards from the likes of Cannes Lions, D&ADs, Loeries, The One Show, Clios, and Dubai Lynx, among others.

“I’ve been in advertising for as long as I can remember,” Ali tells Inc. Arabia. “I dropped my career in computer engineering around 2001, and I went straight from motherboards to storyboards, and I’ve been in advertising ever since.” After a decade spent in copywriting, Ali went on to serve as a creative director for agencies in more than seven countries, before settling into being a director. Today, Ali makes ads for brands like Diesel, Rolling Stone, and Lavazza, while also sitting on juries at regional and international advertising festivals.

So, seeing how ads have been getting longer and more elaborate, even as attention spans shrink, we decided to pick Ali’s mind for his insights on the shifting landscape of advertising – like, for instance, if it’s true that the 30-second ad spot is dead. “What 30-second spot?” Ali retorts. “The 30-second spot is done and dusted, and that is very unfortunate. I’ve been on and off jury duty across international festivals over the last decade, and year-on-year, the entries are consistently getting longer. Three- to four-minute spots are almost the norm now… Last year on the Cannes Film Jury, we decidedly made it a point to give the Grand Prix to the shortest spot on the shortlist, which was Apple’s brilliant RIP Leon. We all loved it instantly, but we also wanted to send a message to the world: please go back to making short, clever commercials.”

RIP Leon, which runs for a little under 45 seconds, was long enough to show a man sending a message to inform his friend that his pet is dead, which he later recalls when he realizes that he’s made a mistake – a showcase of the iPhone’s “unsend a message” feature. The ad, a good example of how coupling a strong concept with simple messaging can result in a concise and powerful piece of communication, speaks to Ali’s point that, as attention spans shrink, advertisers need to rethink how long they think they can keep viewers engaged. “Come to think of it, it’s very counterintuitive that attention spans are getting shorter, while ads are getting longer,” Ali adds. “This is all in an attempt to turn them into content, which, until they get far better, they are not. You cannot, in 2025, shove a four-minute piece of content down people’s throats.”

Ali says that this is especially true during periods like Ramadan, which has long been the prime season for advertising across the Arab world. “Ramadan campaigns were once cultural moments, not just media buys,” he points out, recalling an early ad by Mobinil (now Orange Egypt) called Ya Ostaz Sahini 3al Madfa3 (Sir, Wake Me Up When It’s Time To Eat), which, in many ways, started a trend in Egyptian advertising of making longer ads set to catchy music. Ali notes that it was memorable ads like this that made audiences then keen to tune into commercials, comparing Ramadan’s advertising season to the US’s Super Bowl ads.

“But just like the US Super Bowl, which has also fallen into the trap of making long ad spots with multiple celebrities, very little time is now spent on the idea or concept,” Ali points out. “This is why a 30-second ad with a killer idea will stand out more than ever. Instead of crafting a strong idea, brands are pouring money into long-winded spots stuffed with celebrities. The result? The concept gets lost, and the ad blends into the clutter.”

This is why Ali believes that there’s a case to be made for reviving 30-second ad spots, as that will not only appeal to shrinking attention spans, but will also result in more clever ads. Ali’s own portfolio can testify to this – one of his first campaigns (and the one that put him on the global ad filmmaking map) was Never Say No To Panda, for Egypt-based Arab Dairy, which featured a giant panda throwing a fit when someone declines the brand’s Panda Cheese.

Ironically, the campaign only aired for a week before the advertiser pulled it – but it went on to win two Grand Prix at the Dubai Lynx International Advertising Festival, a Gold for Film at the Epica Awards, and a Silver Film Lion at the Cannes International Advertising Festival in 2010. The campaign has since become a pop culture mainstay across the region and the world, and the 30-second-spot is perhaps one of the best examples of how combining edgy advertising, humor, and a strong concept can produce cultural products that last long beyond the campaign itself.

This article first appeared in the March 2025 issue of Inc. Arabia magazine. To read the full issue online, click here.

Pictured on the lead image is Ali Ali, Executive Creative Director at GoodPeople. Image courtesy GoodPeople.