Image Credit: PlayboyLogo by Source.
Been there, done that.
Playboy
magazine, a glossy spread that has featured thousands of women in their
birthday suits has decided to show less skin in its future editions.
Citing that nudity in the 21st century “is just passé at this juncture,” Scott Flanders, the CEO of Playboy informed
the press of their company’s surprising move earlier this week. He has
admitted that just everyone can access porn or nudity at the click of
the mouse; thus, making a stale statement that really, less is more.
The Playboy Era
The start of the 1950s were the years that Playboy
opened its publication to stark nudity and glossy pin-up of less than
stellar models and Hollywood goddesses to the American public. It was
the sexual revolution where love, peace and baring the human body were
the “in” thing. Consequently, the women’s liberation movement was on the
upswing and traditional modes of behavior regarding sex and intimacy
were being challenged up front.
When Playboy
founder Hugh Hefner featured Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe on its
maiden issue during the 1950s, it was the magazine’s first taste of
success. With over 50,000 copies sold, Playboy carved a niche in
America’s wanton appetite for visual stimulation. Centerfold became a
household byword and was synonymous with pinup photos.
With the company’s never ending fight with censorship, it still prevailed with Hefner’s purchase of the Playboy
Mansion at 1340 North State Parkway adding to the magazine’s reputation
of embodying the good life. The company’s expansion to club
memberships, merchandise, movies, television and bunny junkets, which
featured the famous bunny logo gained strength in the 1960s.
The following
years were a whirlwind of global expansion, which brought the
magazine’s circulation to other countries such as Germany. Playboy
products were being distributed worldwide with an initial venture in
Japan in 1972, which accounted for over 7.16 million sold copies, their
largest sales ever.
The decline
in most print publications during the last few decades didn’t leave the
magazine unscathed. Playboy’s circulation steadily declined; from over 7
million in the 70s to about 800,000 today. It was not surprising, with
the rise of the internet use and digital media, print was slowly gasping
its last breath.
Out with the Old
Playboy’s
move is a major shift from its early policies of full nudity. With the
internet clearly granting easy access to every porn and nudity
available, the magazine’s decline is imminent. Most users can access
high-definition pornographic materials easily; the majority opting to
use peer-to-peer sharing sites to get access to sexually graphic digital
contents.
Similar
competitors such as Hustler and Penthouse, which have more sexually
implicit content also added to the magazine’s dismal performance.
Playboy’s decision to show lesser skin for their models in the future is
the latest move of the company to take a step back from going all out
nude; which was banned in their Playboy website in August of 2014.
Image Credit: Playboy lighter” by Downtowngal
It was, however, a wise decision on the magazine’s part. The move enabled Playboy to
gain access to more platforms and mainstream social media such as
Twitter and Facebook. It also increased its online readership, with
unique visitors to the Playboy site averaging 400 percent a month.
The launching
of the magazine’s Playboy mobile app widened its reach; with more
millenials joining in the fray and enjoying more of the magazine’s
non-nude contents and interesting articles. According to the company,
readership age was lowered to 30 years as compared to its earlier
patrons of the 40-somethings. More readers opt to view more generalized
content such as videos and other content featuring culture, humor and
sex; not to mention glossy pictures of beautiful women.
Ushering the New and Better Playboy
Will the magazine survive this new era? Flanders seemed to think so. In a statement, he said that “The political and sexual climate of 1953, the year Hugh Hefner introduced Playboy
to the world, bears almost no resemblance to today. We are more free to
express ourselves politically, sexually and culturally today, and
that’s in large part thanks to Hef’s heroic mission to expand those
freedoms.”
A closer
inspection of the CEO’s statement proved that he may be right in his
assumptions. They are ripe for innovation, largely because the magazine
has no choice but to evolve or face extinction. While many people are
questioning the company’s decision to clothe itself in what it purports
as change, a lot of people cannot deny that this is a sound business
move on the part of the management.
Playboy has defied norms, taboos and existential modesty throughout the ages. The company is right, “Why stop now?”
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