After three solid decades of the perfect combo of
hard journalism and soft porn,
Playboy Magazine got its ass kicked by the internet and spiralled into decline. Since the eighties Playboy has struggled along on the back of a trashier mag and licensing fees.
Now Playboy seems to be at a branch in the road. One option is
Hugh Hefner taking the company private. the other is a buy out by the class-free zone of
Friendfinder/Penthouse--one of the few outfits that could make the Heff look relatively refined.
I just hope that
if Playboy goes private, Hefner does to. I can respect a pinup mag with a pedigree, but his reality show is a boil on the butt of popular culture. In my
(admittedly not-terribly-important) opinion, porn magnates should be obscene and not heard
(or seen).
Now Playboy seems to be at a branch in the road. One option is Hugh Hefner taking the company private. the other is a buy out by the class-free zone of Friendfinder/Penthouse--one of the few outfits that could make the Heff look relatively refined.
1 comment:
The 'reality' show, love it or hate it, reinvigorated the Playboy brand. Each of the bimbettes has a spin-off show, and Hef is a hot (if almost comatose) property again.
While Playboy had cultural significance once upon a time (again, love it or hate it, there was some boundary pushing going on) it is, as you say, now a dinosaur of printed tasteful still boobies in a world of internet video OTT sex.
The Playboy brand IS Hef and the Bunnies and the Mansion lifestyle, not the magazine anymore.
Me? I'd rather watch Glenn Beck ... at least he's funny and sad, rather than just sad.
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