Have I been wrong all this while?

A little over a week ago, I found myself having dinner with this creative person....why I said yes, is another post altogether.  

Illuminating is what I can say as a result of that dinner. Whilst the chap's dinner conversation is infinitely long-winded, tiresome and entirely self-absorbed, there were some nuggets to be gleaned from said conversation....although one can hardly call it a conversation if it's completely one-sided.

Anyway, he said that I should completely separate myself from the failings of the product/service because I am an advertiser and the shortcomings of the product/service is none of my business. He proceeded to quote Berbach "nothing made bad products fail faster than good ads".

To some degree, he is right.  But while this gives the creatives the "freedom" to go all wild and fancy-free on their ideas, what they fail to consider is that as bad as the clients are, they, on the most part, have a conscience. They WILL NOT knowingly allow an ad campaign that overpromises but really under-delivers because, in their hearts of hearts (God bless 'em), they know that that is just PLAIN 'OL LYING!

And that's just not it...the very same guy had earlier said that he feels guilty of "giving in to what the Client wants" because 1) it's not what a value-add service is all about  and 2) his integrity and credibility as a adman would suffer....that is just RICH coming from him!

He doesn't mind lying to MILLIONS but suffers from an attack of the conscience when the Client insists on his/her way...

I do wonder what are people sucking on these days?....some kind of mutant grass perhaps?