Cisco Certified Neural Assimilator

I'm studying for my CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate)... a formality that is long overdue and a necessary step in getting the more valuable CCIP (Cisco Certified Intelligent Person?... no I'm pretty sure it's just IP as in Internet Protocol). Anyway, the studying has began. Wow, basic stuff, but broad and irrelevant enough to require a lot of studying. But the most obvious impression after hitting the cram books is that these certifications are as much about promoting the Cisco brand name as they are about education. Don't get me wrong—I don't blame Cisco for this. On the contrary I would be disappointed if they missed an obvious opportunity for self-promotion. However, it is very distracting to myself (and I imagine to anyone else who approaches these books with a strong background in networking protocols).