Advertising, who said it's not art?

At least to my knowledge advertising is sometimes perceived as a minor art. A diminishing way of using graphics, music and cinema for commercial purposes. Commercial purposes are indeed seen as the culprit, as a sort of evil goal which effect is to turn everything around it in mere business, sucking the beauty of free, unconventional and revolutionary thinking. I say:

Advertising is art.
Advertising is mastery of media and content.
Advertising is a way to spread unconventional, revolutionary and free thought.

Modern advertising in fact, doesn't rely on a promotional style of communication. Consumption and purchase are not at the core of advertising anymore. First there was the product and it was good. Sell the product and forget about it, let the audience know how it's used and what it is for and who cares what happen next.

Nowdays you almost never see the product in the ads, and if it's shown it's not invasive. It just fits into the story (at least in good ads). This is because today's consumer don't buy products, but ideas, ideals, feelings, social forgiveness. Products and services are vehicles of self awareness and self acceptance, they are a way to express someone's attitude towards different subjects and themes, but they are also a medium for people to learn more about themselves. The complexity of such messages makes advertising quite a respectable form of art. It is certainly fueled by a business reason, but many times this reason is left behind; quietly left standing in the backstage of a more ambitious show.
This thought came across my mind tonight while surfing on "Ads of The World", a comprehensive aggregator of the most interesting content advertising can offer. There you can find loads of award winning commercials and print ads that are simply brilliant for both execution and storytelling, like the one I saw for Amnesty International's campaign against death penalty.