"Flat is the New Up"

I've found myself using this sound-byte on more than one occasion recently so I thought it was worthy of its own post. I first heard it second-hand at DPAC with attribution given to Mr. Sean Finnegan of SMG. I've dropped it in many a budget conversation as marketers look ahead to 2009 and we realign our expectations. Thanks for the nugget Finney!

Update: MC Finney reached out to clarify that he did not come up with this phrase. He credits this Newsweek piece with turning him on to it.

Update 11/25: In further "flat is the new up" news: comScore forecasts flat growth for '08 holiday ecommerce spend.

Update 12/16: Just came across this variant from Rob Norman of Group M: "Not bad is the new great."

Update 5/7/09: This just in from the MediaPost Search Insider Summit, "Browse is the new buy."