What worked years ago May no longer be as effective now. Just like banner ads were Wow in the early days, but now users tune them out

A MVP is just something that disproves the weakest assumption on your list.

If you're trying to prove a value proposition, I find that a survey works better than a landing page. PowerPoint decks work too. You can do something similar without being deceptive. Or you can just go to a subreddit of your target market and see what's popular or what people are complaining about.

MVPs aren't a bad idea but you have to make sure you're doing then right. Have a target customer segment, have a clear objective, build the smallest version of your end goal that actually provides value but won't break the bank when you realize how much of it was actually wrong. Then listen to the complaints and feedback, cut out the parts that don't solve for a customer need and deliver another one. Rinse and repeat a few times and then put real effort into the things that you've identified as providing customer value. Don't feel bad about getting wrong, as long as you weren't excessively wasteful along the way.