First of all -- if taking a picture, uploading it to your website, writing about it and publishing it isn't "engagement" I'm not sure what is. ;-)
But I get what you're saying.
Still, advertising will never truly change because the target (the human mind) is largely unchanged over the last, oh, several hundred years... or more.
Branding by association (or "interruption") is still a very valid way of increasing both awareness and perceived value of one's product. Doing so in a targeted sense where the context is relevant is a (much needed!) bonus. Engagement then adds to this in a very big way, as is evidenced here.