I say if you're going to make pubs and VIP, both should be cared about. The way I see it, the more Pub users, the more recognition; the more recognition, the more potential buyers of VIP. I plan to go VIP someday, but as of now I need to pay for more important things right now, like BILLS. lol
P.S. It's what? Like thirty bucks a month? That's a few packs of cigarettes I could be buying instead...besides, the public hacks are already awesome, and you don't have to pay for them.
I think the advertising, though, is the least us lowbies could do for Dave, considering the time he puts into making the hacks.