Coincidence? Wal-Mart just dumped the three "lad mags" for being a little too much like Playboy. Playboy announces its "lad mag" makeover:
- Playboy's new editor James Kaminsky says he's got a magazine for you.
After months of nips and tucks to stop the signs of aging at the 50-year-old publication, founded by sexual revolution icon Hugh Hefner, Playboy is fresh from its makeover.
Kaminsky, 42, told Reuters he is ready to showcase a magazine that is similar in substance but different in style — and put some of the clothes back on.
With a new editorial staff, Kaminsky and Playboy magazine, owned by Playboy Enterprises Inc., are set to recapture the throne that Hefner, now 77, refuses to abdicate. The magazine lost ground on newsstands with the arrival in the late 90s of so-called "lad mags" like Maxim, Stuff and FHM.
The new formula? More photos teamed with still strong journalism, more lifestyle, leisure and fashion and more pictorials of celebrities with perhaps a bit more clothes.
"My goal is to take this great editorial package that has worked for 50 years and move it forward for a new generation, without losing the things that have worked so well to date," Kaminsky said in an interview.
....With Maxim, FHM and Stuff crowding the newsstands and the industry facing the worst advertising slump in recent history, Playboy's newsstand sales suffered and its glossy reputation dulled.
There is "a lot more color. It hits you, it's not subtle," McAlpine said about the revamped magazine. "The editorial content is still there. It may actually make the older reader feel younger. And that's a positive."
....Kaminsky was lured from Maxim in September to replace Arthur Kretchmer, Playboy's editorial boss for nearly four decades. But how do you resculpt the magazine without it appearing like it's in mid-life crisis?
"We need to add new people on the newsstand ... by making the magazine more visual, making it livelier and relevant," Kaminsky said. "It's an evolution, not a revolution. I don't want to lose those 2.8 million" subscribers to the magazine.
....Playboy's pictorials with well-known movie and TV stars in the buff have always been among their best selling issues, but getting A-list actresses, singers and models to appear totally nude has been difficult.
Kaminsky has brought in Heidi Parker, formerly an editor for Movie Line magazine, as the magazine's West Coast editor in a move to add more names to the bow-tied bunny's little black book. [Reuters]
More nearly-naked celebrities and shorter stories with more pictures. Hmmm.
Article comments
1 - Murphy
Well, with the 'net giving it to us as Naked as you wanna be, More clothes might be a better selling point.
I've always felt like the judiciously place scraps of fabric were far more appealing.
But what do I know? I'm not a guy
2 - Jim Carruthers
Here in Soviet Canukistan, you can freely buy Maxim, Stuff, Big Muscle Magazine, whatever at WalMart in Canada. You just can't buy guns or chainsaws. Your bad.
3 - lil_miss_peast
its rubbish hahahahsahahahaha
4 - Mac Diva
One of my least favorite things about the blogosphere is the number of male bloggers who run photos of naked or scantily clad women to attract traffic. Then, they thump themselves on the chest and declare themselves good bloggers. They aren't blogging, they are cheese caking. Guess they're one of the things real porn mags have to take into consideration.
5 - Eric Olsen
that seems like a reasonable commentary
6 - Ms. Tek
Cheesecake is AWESOME.
I love cheesecake.
But I really don't like playboy becaust the spreads are stupid and the makeup looks stupid and it's over airbushed.
I perfer if I am going to look at some smut, that the smut not have so much perservatives on it.
Hell, I admit it... I put up saucy, stupid, pictures to get people to read my site...IT WORKS!!
Do I feel like I am devaluing myself as a woman? Nope. I learned as I got older to use every advantage I can get since I have so many taken away from me. Does it make it hard for people to take me seriously? In my case, I'd say no because my bite and my brain is far worse than my "rack".
Beer, Brains, Boobs... nothing wrong like that... Too bad a lot of men are coming like that too... Less beer men and you will grow less boobs. ;)
*laughs*
7 - ABCstore.com.ar
ARGENTINE ADULT ISSUE:
HOMBRE Argentina is like no other magazine. The magazine that has captured the attention of millions of men is now being published in Spanish. Audacious and daring, each issue is packed with irreverent takes on the topics that interest todays young, active male: sex, sports, fashion, career, gadgets, jokes, health and fitness. The honest and authentic voice of HOMBRE Argentina speaks boldly to the modern multifaceted Spanish-speaking man. http://www.abcstore.com.ar/indexau3.htm
8 - Eric Olsen
are the pictures in Spanish also?
9 - kia Pressley
i am a big fan of play boy bunny i would love to meet yall kia pressley [Personal contact info deleted]