245/60/15's on 15X8 rims

What is the point of putting a wider tire on a car if you are going to mount it on a narrower wheel to suck the sidewalls in, round the tread area just so it the same width a narrower tire mounted functionally and properly? Just to say you run wider tires?

I get that section width grows as you increase wheel width. So does the contact area. So a smaller width tire actually looks bigger. Again, wide tire on a skinny rim seems like an ego move to me but...