Playboy published its first issue without fully nude photos Thursday, ushering in a new era for the magazine.
Along with doing away with nudity, Playboy is getting rid of the cartoon feature, and the monthly list of party jokes. The magazine is also going to be printed with higher-quality paper, and expanding features in hopes of coming off as a higher-end magazine.
Say hello to a new era #PlayboyReveal pic.twitter.com/DoIDYRRgQD
— Playboy (@Playboy) February 4, 2016
“There’s a lot that we’re keeping of the DNA of the magazine, but there’s a lot we’re evolving, too,” the magazine’s chief content officer Cory Jones told CNNMoney’s Alison Kosik. “It’s going to be sexy, but it’s going to be safe for work,” he said.
Sarah McDaniel is on the cover of the March issue, which hits newsstands on Thursday. The cover is made to look like a Snapchat, with text across the bottom half of the cover.
The hardest sell of the new Playboy seemed to be convincing Hugh Hefner to get rid of the cartoon section, according to CNNMoney. But ending the nudity was not an issue.
“His comment was, ‘This is what I always intended Playboy Magazine to look like,'” Scott Flanders, CEO, said of Hefner.
Flanders sees the new Playboy in the same boat as Vanity Fair, and as a result, has opened up the magazine to new advertisers. “You’re going to see a Detroit auto manufacturer in Playboy magazine for the first time in 20 years,” he said. CNNMoney is reporting that automaker is Dodge.
Of course, not everybody is going to be happy with the change. Flanders said that the magazine did receive cancellations after announcing the changes. But added that it’s unrealistic for people to subscribe to Playboy thinking they can’t get nudity somewhere else.
The more modern move is an interesting one, and it will be interesting to see how the magazine handles content moving forward.
[CNNMoney/Photo: Playboy]
