I've had this plenty of times, where praise and accoaldes come down tot he person who made the prettiest or shiniest thing. It's kind of why I moved into frontend development, I always have something so show every week, and management are always happy, since I always look like I have made amazing progress. It's gaming the system, but I would rather this, than what you experienced, where the developer looks like they are wasting time in the eyes of management.