It’s the one thing you can’t change. History. Sure, you can change what you do today. You can influence what happens tomorrow. But history? That’s gone. No matter if it’s an uplifting moment. Or a grim moment. Or just a vanilla moment. It’s inked in.

And that includes brand history.

Brands have spent decades trying (unsuccessfully) to escape their history. Vodafone will be forever haunted by ‘Vodafail’. Footage of any failing Australian airline spliced with the Ansett logo. General Motors can’t electric-wash abandoning the Holden brand – no matter how many Chevvys win Bathurst. Same with any other kind of washing. Green-washing. Rainbow-washing. Sport-washing. All attempts to rewrite history.

But there’s positive as well.

Brands are finding future success by embracing their past. Going back to what worked for decades. Maccas brought back “Two all beef patties…” Louis the Fly still dies on our screens daily. We’re still happy little Vegemites. We still like Aeroplane Jelly. History still works.

Which brings me to AI (don’t roll your eyes).

It’s surprising but, in an AI world, history becomes more important not less. When consumers are feeling the uncertainty of the world around them, they go back to what’s familiar. What’s worked in the past. What’s safe.

This “flight to safety” was first noticed on stock markets in the 1970s – investors swapping high risk shares for guaranteed government bonds. But we see it all the time in Adland. Planners love a flight to safety.

And, weirdly, we actually have an ally in AI.

Recently, I’ve seen a strategy emerging across multiple clients in multiple categories. It’s variously named ‘AEO’, or ‘Win the Answer’. I call it ‘Clack’ because we want an AI Click. In short, everyone’s aiming to get their brand and products to the top of Large Language Models searches. You’ll even notice data companies popping up offering to help. They’re claiming to know the most popular prompts being using and how to ‘game’ the system.

Here’s what’s fascinating.

In 2017, I wrote an OpEd titled, 10 rules for writing better everything. It was me formalising my approach to writing copy people want to read. Tips like:

• Use ‘you’ not ‘we’ – so your copy focusses on the reader not the product
• When you make a claim, prove it – so copy doesn’t end up as puffery
• Replace verbose with simple – so your language is easier to read
• Edit, edit, edit – today, this is the TL;DR test.

In 2026, almost every tipsheet on LLM includes rules like:

• Write for real people not algorithms – focus on the reader
• Provide authoritative signals – verifying claims helps reassure the LLM
• Avoid fluffy and sycophantic – LLMs will identify it as “AI-sounding garbage”
• Deliver key takeaways – make it easy for the LLM to find the answer.

See the similarity? The rules of LLM are almost identical to the rules of good copy.

The LLM is like a human being who’s sick of being yelled at. Of having brands try to chest-beat their way greatness. Or, worse, try to bore them into buying. Ironically, the LLM is forcing clients to write for humans. Which is why smart agencies are seeing today as an opportunity. It’s chance to go back to our own expertise. Our history.

In the flight to safety, good copy can helps keep brands really fly – just don’t rely too heavily on the co-pilot.

Rob Morrison is a rarity in Adland – a grey-hair who’s still a working creative. He’s clocked up 5 years of OpEds for The Stable. He’s now senior writer at Dentsu Creative.

Here are two other opinion pieces from Rob:

Cover image by Markus Winkler on Pexels.