I would say yes and no. Technology has advanced tremendously in the past couple of decades. Perfect example is with gun oils. I am a Glock armorer and have found that Birchwood Casey Synthetic Gun Oil works much better than more expensive oils like Militec-1. Both are synthetic oils, but have much different properties. Other oils I have experimented with yielded different results. While only a small amount of lubricant is used between the slide and the frame rails, some oils do a better job than others. Some last longer without attracting gunk build up, etc.

Bike chains are much more exposed to the elements than other mechanisms. The city I live in in Florida is notorious for sand everywhere. The soil here contains lots of sand, sand is always on the roadways and bike paths I ride. Sand seems to stick to my bike chains every time I ride. My guess is that some types of oils are better at repelling sand/dirt than others.

P.S., Having recently gone from septic tank to sewer system, I can say for sure that there are really great toilete papers on the market today. When you have a septic tank you are limited to only a handful of medoicre brands of toilette paper, however, when you are on a sewer system you can use the best brand out there!