I am interested in the 6 ARC though as it's finally a round that makes the AR-15 pack more punch and relevant without having to go to a AR-10.
It's a nice round, a good increase over the 6x45 (6mm-223 Rem) that lets me use my stockpile of 6mm bullets. I have a 6.5 Grendel for the same reason (stockpile) and have avoided 6.8 SPC because I don't have random bullets to use up. I think it has as much staying power as any of the AR variants that have popped up in the last 15 years or so, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend for anyone to get a barrel, brass and dies. It's not better in a quantifiable way than many other existing options, but IMO having more options is always better than fewer options.
Back on topic -
Yes Hornady has a marketing machine. 100% agree on that, and they're dang good. But so does Berger, AB, Remington, Winchester, Ruger, Barnes, Hodgdon, and every other company in the industry.
I work in finance, and I look at this podcast thing through my professional lens of I'm constantly being hounded to "engage". Meaning I go to panels and listen to people who do the same job I do talk about our jobs, or even worse I'm ON the panel talking to a group that assuming I'm average (not a stretch right?) then half are better than me at the job they're listening to me talking about
These Hornady guys and their guests are probably being pushed to do these things as part of their job, so they end up talking to a group very similar to themselves, and one of the easiest ways to engage people is to be controversial - meaning make them unhappy, unconvinced, or uncomfortable.
They're winning every second we sit here and talk about them! Rent free in our collective cerebral cortexes.