Why does the electric company advertise on TV?

Since union advertisements were just mentioned and the nature of the string is Why xxxx advertises on TV, I’ll throw this into the mix: When there is a local labor dispute that affects a large portion of the population (telephone co., transportation union, etc.), does anyone else think the unions look ridiculous when they plead their case through TV advertising? I’m not anti-union, but my reaction to this ALWAYS is that the union in question sure doesn’t need concessions if they can afford to throw money away on TV ads.