That ad exec certainly had a myopic point of view. Just like the old saying, "If you wear shoes, the world is covered with leather."

For sure, our economy depends on buying and selling, and buying and selling depends on advertising. Like other things that can be abused, advertising needs regulation.

But to say that "nothing" happens without money changing hands ignores a vast swath of the human experience. I pity the person who thinks that everything has a price in dollars and cents.