In this scenario, the "hairy arm" could also be considered a way of "thinking out of the box", of trying something that's totally outside how you normally creat

In this scenario, the "hairy arm" could also be considered a way of "thinking out of the box", of trying something that's totally outside how you normally create. Maybe the novelty inherent in that was attractive to the clients, if the work really was considered "bad" and not just different.