This spring, Playboy has announced they will stop the publishing of nude photos, as part of a plan to redesign their company. With the easy accessibility of internet pornography, the images that Playboy provides have now become “passé”, as according to CEO Scott Flanders. Playboy is simply rebranding to keep up with its competitors. In August, their website stopped the publishing of nude images, and as a result their viewers expanded from 4 million to 16 million, a 400% increase. Opinions range from those who question the move, to others feeling change can be a good thing. The company itself notes that it may be a risk to go “non nude”, after all, “if you take nudity out, what’s left?”
Like Hafu and Eileen‘s posts on Playboy to end publishing nudes, I agree that this change in rebranding is overall a good business move, as it shows Playboy is able to keep up with changing times and advances in technology. Playboy is up against the internet, and it simply cannot compete against such a great force. It shows they really understand and have a grasp on their competitors, and know what they need to do to stand out. In addition, I feel this redesign in the company will appeal to new readers, and potentially could be of greater interest to women. Although the perception of what Playboy is will never change, they have used their reputation to implement what I believe to be a positive change.
Blogs Referenced:
http://blogs.ubc.ca/eileenli/2015/10/26/36/
External Sources:
http://ca.complex.com/pop-culture/2015/10/playboy-stops-publishing-nudes-photos
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/playboy-stop-publishing-nudes_561c736fe4b028dd7ea4ef61