Public perception doesn't matter that much because the customers are car makers.
I'll bet the number of people that buy a individual Intel CPU are a fraction of a percentage of the general population. So why do I see Intel ads on television?
I'll bet the number of people that buy a individual Intel CPU are a fraction of a percentage of the general population. So why do I see Intel ads on television?
To answer your Intel/TV ad question more directly: because there are a lot of people on Intel's payroll whose salary directly depend on them placing ads on TV.
I do not demand you see my perspective, not even sure that's how I see it. But really, how do we know that Intel's branding campaign was valuable to them? It seems obvious, but if it's super obvious, it should be easy to explain.