You're describing marketing, and marketing of an idea is important - I agree. However, you also need to have a population that cares about science, engineering

You're describing marketing, and marketing of an idea is important - I agree. However, you also need to have a population that cares about science, engineering, exploration, etc. I don't believe what gets people into engineering and science is because of how engineering and science are marketed. It certainly doesn't harm anything by marketing it, my opinion is that it is a small component of the overall picture.