On Open Source Marketing

I'm not surprised in the least that Firefox was able to secure funding from loyal users to pay for a full page add in the New York times.  What I am surprised about is why anyone would say this is the future of PR?  I could agree that blogging and social networks play a powerful role in PR, but isn't buying an ad in the NYT a little "old school"?  Sure, the exposure will be great, but how sticky will the message be to the readers of the NYT?  This feels like a symbol at best.