I'm 99% sure the whole drill bit vs. holes analogy was created by a marketer. I could very well be wrong, but I've read it in countless marketing and copywriting books.
It's basically selling the benefit instead of the feature, which is what any half-decent marketer brings to the table. That's basically my simple idea of at least half of what I do as a marketer.
I'm curious though, and I don't mean this in a confrontational way at all. Why do you think marketers sell the bit vs the hole?