Covered calls are usually marketed by people who don't really know what they're talking about. If you really must do it, write puts instead! You will have exactly the same return profile but with less brokerage costs. Short put = long stock + short call.
Covered calls are a very valid strategy if you have a long-term share portfolio and want extra income from them. I agree they are not a 'holy-grail' cash-cow.
Naked PUTs do have the same payoff diagram but the psychology of trading them is vastly different. People seem to like seeing all those shares in their account instead of options. And at the end of the day if it all goes pear shaped then they can just hold onto the shares until they rebound (if they do).