i thought publicity was so boring i just got 10000 points and played a lot of flying tombola (or whatever it's called in english). in chapter one, of course. the process speeds up a lot once you're allowed to bet 25 points in one game. sometimes you win and you gain points.
it's best to do in CH1:

CH1: +1 publicity every 20 points spent
CH5: +1 publicity every 200 points spent...

as for wife-search, i just ran shortly around spira until i got 5 points from random wives, then i went to moonflow each chapter and chose the 2nd answer on the -BOY- near the save sphere... this is also possible in CH4. That way you'll get 30 points and you don't get any better rewards anyway.

Edit: btw, the right publicity answer for that boy is the fifth.