is there somethng wrong with below the line?

No, nothing, but the line's pretty arbitrary anyway isn't it? It's more to do with how people refer to it and that seems to be, quite literally, to keep people in their place much of the time. Surely being ATL helps inflate egos?

ATL might inflate the egos of those who still see the line, but more than ever channels are converging and it is about creativity, strategy and intelligence being applied to communications - right person, right place, right offer, right time - all complemented by brand recognition and appreciation. This doesn't happen through 1 channel only. The line is just an imaginary barrier that clients are increasingly seeing through. Digital is grouped in with direct because it garners a quantifiable response - pure ATL would love to be able to say that it does the same, but it can't provide the numbers - so instead certain elements in the sector protect the line as they see it as their USP. Creativity is not the exclusive product of ad agencies - nor are the crayons and words only there for them to play with. It's just that some of them don't want to share.

Lovely stuff.