Some of my younger colleagues were wondering whether copywriters existed in marketing before the digital era. Being old enough to remember, I smiled and told them, “Of course—but they had a different name.” When they asked what that was, I said, “PR writers.” I went on, “Those were the golden days. We wrote for newspapers and magazines, long before SEO, keywords, gemini, or Google Analytics. Everything relied on studying buyer behavior. We crafted key messages from our own expertise, drawing insights from PRs, articles, books—constantly reading, analyzing, and refining. Even billboards and slogans weren’t just words; they were coded messages designed to lodge in consumers’ minds, waiting to be decoded into awareness and, ultimately, sales.” As I spoke, I noticed their surprise. So, I added with a knowing smile, “Oh, and we had media buyers too—but back then, we called them ATL executives. But that’s another story.”