It's only a marketing ploy if the choices you made in ME1 don't actually change anything in ME2, and until we play ME2 we can't know what consequences our choices have. If they have a significant impact on the path the game takes then it'll actually be quite a step up from what we usually see in games. Though given your views on Bio it's hardly surprising you'd take a glass-half-empty view.
Unless they are planning on doubling or tripling the game's size just by adding optional content most players will never see, the consequences of first game choices will be few and shallow. It's just not worth the investment.
Also, considering Bio's record of limiting their games' content in favour of production values, I don't see how this will be any different.