I can see reasons with you why there might not be really active foot soldiers as online advert is still a good means. But some persons claiming bitcoin never needed any form of advert and awareness sounds somehow
Think about other Altcoins that haven't had the exposure yet, they are steadily pushing out and advertising.
Even Elon had to take doge with him wherever he went to just to spread awareness.
Maybe some of the people pushing out altcoins and committing to massive advertisement of it have something to directly benefit from its popularity. Some of them may not have direct connections to the coins, maybe their advertisement is from personal interest, and they are just using their fame to promote it.