The year ahead for ... account planning.(economic condition of advertising agencies)

David Bain says that after years of complacency within the industry, inventive thinking is now needed to make the most of shrinking budgets.

If, in 2009, Sir Martin Sorrell was revealed to be the secret leader of a species of hyper-intelligent intergalactic space badgers, I would be only mildly surprised. Because, if 2008 has taught us anything, it is that, in 2009, almost anything is possible.

Business became the strangest place in a strange world last year. In this topsy-turvy world, Gordon Brown, the boom economy's most potent symbol of starched frugality, is telling us it is now our patriotic duty to go shopping. We must spend for victory.

And this strange contrariness is also played out in the dominant consumer mood. There is a strange sense of collective glee mixed up with all the economic gloom. It seems that the thought of austerity has made us all a bit giddy. We appear to almost like the idea of this recession We seem to be gloating at our old complacent selves, pointing the finger at yesterday's slackness - 'That'll learn yer for spending nearly four quid a pop on double chocamochaccinos every bleeding day.'

We appear to want to take our medicine, be purged, restored. Journalists such as India Knight (the author of The Thrift Book: Live Well And Spend Less) are almost making austerity chic.

Could it be that the past ten years of economic growth, our years of surplus and plenty, have somehow sat uncomfortably with the British psyche? Could we be leaping on this recession so zealously because somehow we are happier and more comfortable with a picture of ourselves painted standing square-jawed against adversity; all brilliantine, resilience and pluck? We'd never had it so good, but maybe ended up feeling rather bad.

Perhaps. But what I do think is certain is that greater austerity this year will demand greater things from agencies. With shrinking budgets and dissipating demand, we will need to put a John Mills twinkle into our eye and just make the most of a bad job. 'Make do and mend,' as the wartime slogan insisted. We will almost certainly need to give ourselves appropriate nicknames (I am already calling my partners Trev, Bil and Andrew by the more apposite Squiffy, Spodger and Tinkles).