Sure in broad strokes you are probably right that brand awareness has ROI positive in the long term. But then why would you buy targeted advertising vs a giant billboard on the main road?
To more specifically answer your question; I imagine they have some sort of strategy with advertising. A billboard campaign might work. I always see Barracuda ads in airports, but nowhere else. Soap operas are named because soap and consumer products advertised to homemakers during the day. Even when using a broad brush you look for the best use of your money and target your audience.
The problem with attribution is that it's entirely flawed. Just compare what Google Analytics reports for a campaign vs what Facebook is reporting for the same thing. They'll give you different results and in most cases you probably shouldn't trust either.
BUT, what they do is provide an easily accessible number that you can show your boss to show you had results. This is massively flawed but most marketers don't understand the mechanics of advertising or tracking well enough to understand why they're reporting garbage data.