Downstairs, Up.

The other day, I hoofed it from 59th down to Alphabet City, picked my way down a threadbare flight of stairs, and found myself in advertising's happy place.

Or at least a wistfully tantalizing approximation of the same.  

Between the cold calculus of mergers leading to death by 4000 pink slip paper cuts and the giant chillers keeping mammoth AI data centers frigid, you take your warmth where you find it.

In this case, it was a seminar called the "Sweathead Do Together 2025," an annual learning-by-doing masterclass put together by the singular Mark Pollard for advertising strategists.

I wound up there, likely the only writer-slash-creative-director-cum-director in the room on the entirely “come one, come all” invitation of Rob Schwartz, stellar creative turned agency CEO turned executive coach who offhandedly mentioned on LinkedIn he was doing a segment called "Reinvention is the Key to Longevity."

While I've definitely nailed the longevity part, I’m so far behind on the David Bowie reinvent-by-calendar; the spokes on the hamster wheel are looking like a fire escape.

Still, hope springs and curiosity abounds, and that led me into the middle of a collection of people who were intently and, it would seem, eagerly, taking notes and snaps, diving into the exercises, and generally inhaling the presented wisdom like it was oxygen.

No, it wasn’t perfect.  

You have to wonder why a few of the presenters, all super smart, all top tier, all obviously at the top of their games, still manifested a few of the all too common ad planner habits that drive those of us on the being-briefed end batshit crazy.

That said, the consistent level of thinking was both inspirational and aspirational, at least to someone who buys the Hal Riney provocation that “you can’t be a good creative unless you’re a good strategist.”

In short, it was uplifting.

Still feeling unexpected buoyancy the next day, I pinged Ed Cotton, one of the leading voices on all things strategic: “While most of the ad community is downcast, morose, and raging about the loss of past glories, the strats are really doing the positive talking, idea sharing, and generally communicating about how to do it better. What gives?”

His answer: “Strategists like talking and sharing — it’s part of who they are.”

In a holiday season punctuated by the icy realities of industry restructuring, a failure to learn from our failures, and a clearly treacherous path ahead, it’s a liking we might all want to pick up.

Addenda: devotees of city history might appreciate the juxtaposition of finding something so constructive in the middle of what used to be the most dystopian of NYC neighborhoods.  Meanwhile, in his presentation, Rob Schwartz mentioned his high-flying journey through the loftier realms of advertising began when he ripped up his Law School Admissions Test and walked out of the testing room.

If only others of us had been that clever.