"...Advertising is no longer relevant and therefor no longer accountable because, in the overwhelming majority of cases, it does not help anyone solve any problems or live a happier life. It is simply an annoyance. Instead of addressing the question of how to make themselves relevant to consumers, advertisers tend to go in the opposite direction, which is to dream up new ways to disrupt our lives with their irrelevant messages."

That's a excerpt from a book I just started reading, "Relevance: making stuff that matters" by Tim Manners.

That statement has been bugging me all day. Is that really how some people in other areas of the industry regard advertising? The book has had some great points but this one is just one hard pill to swallow. What do you guys think?