nonoise,
I suspect that you're prone to projection, at least in this case.
You are definitely right about that one.
At the same time, sides here are so fierce about their beliefs that no logic will settle it and, so far, I am the only one who raised the issue of the appearance as being important. If appearance were completely unimportant, many cables would look much more mundane.
People often buy cars based on the outside appearance while they never look at it that way while using it. It should not be inconceivable that appearance of the cables has some, maybe minor, influence in the buying decision. Some marketing and psychology professionals probably wrote books and books about it. Think of the second generation Suzuki Hayabusa design. Influenced and made to somehow resemble, among other things, the average/usual rider of that motorcycle shape. I am not saying that cable manufacturers think all their buyers are super-skinny, but they certainly do think about the visual presentation.