The M&M test is a tactic. It's not the only strategy you would employ if you were trying to solve the issues that Fukushima had and money wasn't relevant to how this solution helped Van Halen. Drawing interesting parallels makes for better conversation, I'm not sure anyone needed to be reminded of the differences between a Band's live show setup and Nuclear Power Plant safety.

That being said... you would be surprised to learn how often "cute" tactics like these are utilized by governments to leverage human behavior.