I don't think it's as big a problem in the real world as the author would make it seem. Yes the internet is full pretty but ultimately useless designs, but those are made by designers out to get likes on dribbble. And yes, designers can sometimes care a little more than they should about aesthetics (I've done it). But real companies are not in it to create works of art, their goal is to make money and they do this by creating products that are useful to people.

Dropbox is the perfect example here because they have so many illustrations and flashy gifs on dribbble but their real website is just a sign up form and their real product is as bare bones and focused on functionality as they come. And it works so people pay for it.

I also think using the right kind of animation when transition from a page or creating an illustration to represent your company and playing around with it like MailChimp does can really make the product feel like a lot of attention went into it which in turn makes the user feel valued which in turn translates into economic value for the company.

Nobody does this in the real world, and I'd say the degree of 'sugar' in most products today is fine.