I don't understand why the upper comment was downvotted without any explanation, when it's not far from the truth. Even if the people like the event, it's still a marketing stunt similar to hackathons or other competitions.
It's not a constructive comment. It's obvious that it has marketing benefits, and the poster's connotations were that there was something wrong with that, without giving a reason.
It probably cuts down on people signing up for a lark and then not showing up.