How would you save Playboy?

[Dr Shipherd]

It's a shame that the PB forum erased my post on the same subject. I had several ideas on how to save the magazine.

Several posters have brought up one word that describes what Playboy has been lacking over the past few years: class. The PMs in the past had it, and they did so without sacrificing their youthful exuberance. Each PM also had a distinct personality that complemented and contrasted nicely with her fellow models. Today, the PMs look jaded and interchangeable. And yes, I'd also give their shoots more elegant and creative settings. The pictures should look warm and lifelike, instead of sterile and bland.

As for celebrity pictorials, they should be reserved for celebrities. You know, performers that everyone knows, instead of "reality" show participants and hostesses of obscure cable channels. Also, the celebrity shoots should make the subjects look glamorous instead of artsy-fartsy ridiculous (hello, the genius boy who came up with the Darryl Hannah shoot).

With regard to the photographers themselves, lose the current crop and replace them with ones who have artistic vision. You won't be able to bring Posar, Marcus, or Fegley back, but there are photographers out there who take their work seriously and put their heart and soul into conveying images of feminine beauty.

I also agree with posters that say that PB is catering too much to the "drunken frat boy" market. They should focus on the upwardly mobile male 28-49 demographic. And if the average reader can't yet afford the designer golf clubs, the bespoke suits, or the hot new European sports car, they should have some sort of ideal to aspire toward.

In the 50's and 60's, Playboy defined culture and style. Today, I think they can re-trench and establish a new standard that can transcend the dumbed-down pablum out there today. Right now, they're as low as they've ever been (Marge Simpson?); they have nothing to lose by aiming for something higher.

[tamsmith]

40, 30, 20 years ago Playboy, Mayfair, Parade were the items all young boys wanted and craved for. If you wanted to see a naked lady then you had to buy a top shelf mag and be totally embarrassed paying for it.

Things have changed folks. Why pay $10 or £5 for a mag when you can get a continuous supply over the internet, with no censorship restrictions.

If the current young generation want to buy mags they will buy Zoo, Nuts and the like not old fuddy duddys like Playboy.

Playboy is dead. As my nephews say "who wants to read (thought provocing) crap when you just want to see tits and ass".

Sorry but the internet will kill all those mags.

[Ellie]

Originally Posted by Ellie

^ The thread is just a bit of fun... None of us are actually going to save the thing, lol!

...

This is just for fun... and for people to voice their likes and dislikes with the current magazine as it is.

xxXxx

See this post, tamsmith. All opinions are welcome though, of couse

Also, as someone who's probably of your nephews generation, I can say I've noticed a huge number of my peers are going back to buying " hard copies" of things, such as CDs, books, magazines, etc.

I think my generation is quickly realising that, for example, having 3000 songs saved on you comp isn't the same as owning 30 CDs. Owning the 30 CDs might be more of a hassle, but it feels better. Plus, we're all aware that technology cannot keep up with the current growth of the internet and that it's likely to breakdown in 10 or so years... or so my friends at the Imperial Collage of London tell me

That's sort of off topic, though

[themidlander]

playboy is more than a magazine or tv channel it's an iconic brand; but a brand that has failed to keep up with the times.
Once a brand starts on the downward slope it is very difficult to bring it back round and make it relevant to new age (hence rebranding as an option). It's all about fashion and/or people's perceptions and that's a hard battle to fight......How many years before it becomes retro!

[sydney1]

Save Playboy? it's like trying to save Woolworth's, pointless, it's time has gone. Sorry.

[Ellie]

Could people please stop posting just to say " it's pointless"? All opinions are valid, of course, and I'm in no place to censor, but this is just supposed to be for fun and for PB fans to let their imaginations go.

I actually agree that the magazine doesn't have a good future as it is, but that doesn't mean the whole brand has to go down the can. Changes could be made to adapt to the times and also to give a bit of style back to the brand. And, mostly, as I have said this is just a bit of fun!

Sorry to be a nazi about this! I just don't want this thread to turn into a total bummer! Lol!

xx

[tamsmith]

Originally Posted by Ellie

See this post, tamsmith. All opinions are welcome though, of couse

Also, as someone who's probably of your nephews generation, I can say I've noticed a huge number of my peers are going back to buying " hard copies" of things, such as CDs, books, magazines, etc.

Publishers and music distributors will welcome your thoughts but I have my doubts.

I, personally, have about 600 ish albums and easily a 1000 cd's. Located in the loft. Forget about DVD's.
I also have them all on a hard drive and a bacup. Computer space is the way to go. The ones in the loft never get played and will be sold, but no-one wants them!!

Apple did to music what Sanyo did to Video.

[Ellie]

^ Maybe we're a foolish generation then, lol! But it's definitely a developing trend, and one that has really taken off since Michael Jackson died.

Anyway, another thing I would love to see Playboy do but they probably never will, lol:

1. Bring back the traditional Bunny and the Playboy clubs. They really seemed to be a huge part of the PB image that just died in the early 90s. If PB did bring them back right now they would probably be really tacky and I would cry, but I dream of wearing one of those original Bunny suits! Lol! I would try and bring an updated version of the traditional clubs back if I was in control of Playboy. I don't get PB's idea at the moment that class and elegant are totally dead?? Who told them that? Half of the new upmarket clubs in London are based around the fact that class is fashionable! Some of them barely even let you touch the furniture! lol!

[cqnew1648]

This is a post I placed a few years ago on a now defunct Yahoo group, on the theme of our new thread. Thanks to Ellie for starting this thread. Many of us wish Playboy could be saved.


It is sad that Playboy’s readership is down, that its internet business has lost money, and that it has been forced by economic necessity to move into the hardcore business. They forgot what made their core business, the magazine, so popular and profitable in the 1970s and early 1980s. It could be so again, even in a hard core world, if it went back to its strengths. If I might be so bold, it celebrated not only natural beauty, but sexuality, in a proud and powerful way. Our favorite Playmates of that era shared the fantasy, it seems, of Playboy fans—of a woman who was proud of herself and her body, who revealed herself not only physically, but emotionally and sexually, and left us utterly seduced. There is no more powerful alternative to the more degrading forms of pornography and their contempt for women than the vision of a beautiful woman who laughs, has fun, flirts with us, and gets caught up in the moment, making her fantasy ours.
The odd thing is that the only seductive, sexually-charged performance that made it into the magazine in anywhere near its true form was Patti McGuire’s—whose appearance boosted sales, won her millions of fans, and helped lead her to a very happy life. If Playboy were to issue a complete, high-quality edition of her performance on the Cyber Club, it would draw new fans, whatever the hardcore folks were up to at the time. I’d love to see former Presidents Bush and Clinton doing ads for “Patti McGuire: The Complete Edition.” You know they fell for her when they read then-presidential candidate Carter’s interview in the November, 1976 issue. Every guy did!
Unfortunately, Playboy has hidden most of its seductive performances from its readers, and it continues to do so by and large in the Cyber Club, losing profits and customers, and letting hard core pornography rule by default. I suppose that Playboy had no choice but to enter the hardcore business if it hoped to survive. But it would be a terrible decision financially to give up on its original business, which could be profitable as well if it offered us more of great performances like Patti McGuire’s in the magazine and in the Cyber Club. Playboy has always been more than a business for Hugh Hefner, its staff, its Playmates, and its fans. It celebrates women, passion, and an acceptance of our sexuality. If Playboy had the courage of its convictions and took advantage of its greatest assets—those erotic, artistic performances by its staff and our favorite Playmates—it could make lots of money, meet the hardcore challenge, and be faithful to its original purpose.

My case in pictures: Patti seducing us, arousing herself, and leaving us speechless.


 

[tamsmith]

Originally Posted by Ellie

I dream of wearing one of those original Bunny suits!

When you get the photos please post them!!