Its not true Google devalued low quality directories some of the big names like BOTW and others are still considered as important by Google.
Getting 300 links from sites that Google considers a 'bad neighborhood' is absolutly a bad thing. It can result in stiff penalties and/or exclusion from google altogether. And you have to be careful with article marketing as well. You don't want a bunch of sites posting the exact same article that has a link to you. What you want is a bunch of article where each one is unique, that all have a link that point to you.
It's not the 'big names' they are worried about. It's the quality of the directly. If the directory lets just anyone in, then it's a low quality directory, and is discounted by Google. But if the directory only lets in quality sites with unique content that don't have a ton of advertising all over them, then they may have more value.
That's just about the first lesson everyone learns about search engine optimization. Never use a directory submission service. You should pick and choose the directories you submit to manually. Only submit to directories that have strict submission requirements and that only allow quality websites in. Make sure you don't submit to directories that are in the same network, on the same IP, or even owned by the same company. To be honest, I'm not a real big fan of massive directory submission. I like to submit a new site to about a dozen quality directories, and then I'm done with them.