I think key word here is "feel". The reality is that modern products are absurdly complex, and consumers truly don't know what is (and isn't) worth their money. Which is why marketing, making people "feel" a certain way, is SO important. Maybe even more important than the product itself.

I mean, do you know how any of your food is produced? If you wanted to verify that the ingredients are what they say they are, can you? If you're buying a car how confident are you the transmission is reliable? Do you actually understand how the transmission is designed OR... is it just brand name? It's brand name, right.

Ultimately companies don't need to, and are better off not, producing high quality and safe goods. It makes much more sense to produce lower quality goods and reinvest the savings into advertising. The consumer won't know the difference, and they couldn't find out even if they wanted to.