If there’s one thing I’ve learned from working in magazines, it’s this: Publishers and editors do not like change. I’ve experienced it first hand, from being told to write an article a certain way because “That’s the way we always do it” to seeing layouts get canned because they were “too experimental,” to listening to an editor complain about having to start posting content online — and let’s not even discuss the drama of new layouts! So it’s really no surprise to me to see this article about five of the biggest media players banding together to the tune of $90 million to promote “the power of print.”

Yep. That’s $90 million to promote print and print advertising mostly in print ads. Ads include the taglines: “The Internet is fleeting. Magazines are immersive.” And (my favorite) “We surf the Internet. We swim in magazines.” They’re drowning in irony and stubbornness.

Irony because last year, most of these mags were crowing about going digital and now they’re re-embracing print. And stubborn because the online publishing industry — with the introduction of the iPad, reading tablets and smarter, faster notepads and smartphones — is facing an exciting terrain with enormous possibilities, and they’re running away.

It’s the standard “us vs. them” mentality of the print world. Instead of embracing the “fleeting” Internet to increase readership and exposure, they’d rather spend $90 million on print ads to attract print advertisers (whose numbers fell last year, btw) to whom they can promise nothing more than right- or left-hand page placement. Whereas online, publishers can track ad performance, optimize content for increased page views, utilize social media to increase readership and page views, and introduce interactive features to collect user information, give readers a reason to return and reduce bounce rates — all of which can help them sell more ads.

But if the potential drowning metaphors of this ad campaign prove true, then the mags have no one to blame but themselves for not learning how to surf.