Cocoa Puffs are fine to buy "generic" but don't you try and say my Frosted Flakes are the same as the generic ones!! I don't want some busted up flakes with no frosting even on them!
My point is, there's only so far you can take the "don't buy into advertising" mentality before the better product is actually the one that is advertised better as well. I have an LG HDTV. LG advertises quite a bit for all of their products, and I have to say it is one of the best out there for the money at this size. That's not to say all of these products are terrible due to lack of advertising, but it's more applicable to make such a comparison in a (somewhat) niche market than in a higher profile market.
The fact that Grado, Denon, and AKG don't advertise much at all is part of their problem in not being chosen over the Beats. Taking it back to cereal, when they are in the same location, and you can see that there is no difference, or that one is a better value, that's one thing, but when you advertise so little, and your product is so expensive, that the stores selling Beats and other phones of lesser value don't carry your product, how do you expect comparisons to be made?
Denon has been a major name in higher end audio in the past, more so in the HT and stereo venues, but with much of the market moving from stereos and quality HT to simple soundbars and things like Bose's DSP fueled simulated surround, their name is less of a powerhouse than it used to be. AKG and Grado are much farther behind in the customer recognition due to always being somewhat of a niche market since headphone use was not the most popular thing in the past, and vinyl has settled down enough that Grado isn't even all that well known for carts anymore.
Anyway, the whole point of that is that some advertising is always good for business, and by relying on communities such as our own and loyalty to brands that have proven their value in the past to you, sales will never be as monstrous as well, Monster.