The New Yorker/Hef Rex

[David Reeves]

I have subscribed to Playboy magazine since February 1985.  My first
newstand purchase was the December 1978 issue.  I bought the magazine
infrequently between that issue and the receipt of my first
subscription copy.  However, I did start obtaining the magazine
through back copies in my early teens.  To date, my back copy
purchases are second only to my current Special Editions purchases in
total cost.  I have branched out into foreign editions of Playboy,
with the German edition being the easiest to accumulate.  (Plug: I
will be selling some of my foreign Playboy doubles on ebay this
summer).  Just as CD and record sales statistics do not include the
volume of trade in second-hand copies, does anyone know the real size
and worth of the re-sale market for Playboy?  Few magazines merit such
statistics, let alone regard, for re-sale value.  I find (and I know
others here do too) that Playboy's earlier "back catalogue" is more
important and crucial to understanding our culture than its latter
incarnation (post-1996).

I think the PMOY non-cover controversy can be explained this way.
"Joe Millionaire" was a ratings blockbuster (30+ million viewers for
the finale), while "Who Wants To Be Playboy Playmate?" was dead last
(4 million viewers, IIRC) in its time slot among the major networks.
Since the PMOY choice was effectively a spin-off of the latter show (I
wasn't enthusiatic with Ms Santiago's choice as a PMOM, FWIW), even
the least media-savvy person would know who to put on the cover.

Who's to say Playboy won't gain many subscribers because of the
presence of the "Joe Millionaire" cast-off on its cover?  My
enthusiasm for buying/back-collecting Playboy surged with the Farrah
Fawcett-Majors and Raquel Welch NON-nude celebrity issues.  But Farrah
and Raquel (and later a very nude Bo Derek) have and had careers and
fan recognition which Playboy could (and still can) exploit.  Poor
Sarah will be a footnote.

But, quite honestly, how many PMOY's can average people name?  And
Pamela Anderson does NOT count!  What about "just" naming Playmates?
Depending upon where the interviewee lives and how much TV that person
sees, the answer will likely include Shannon Tweed, "Jimmy Connor's
ex", the Baywatch babes (eg. "Pamela LEE Anderson"), their hometown
Playmate and Anna Nicole Smith.  I'm not being cynical; that really is
how the "average" people I've talked to relate their anwers.

Will Sarah save the magazine?  No.  But I like her a lot more than
Sandra Bernhard, Chyna and that OJ crack ho.  I've remained a
subscriber to Playboy because it's cheaper than buying it at the
newstand, because I can take 1-2 editorial "bad decisions" per year
and because the overall product has very few genuine competitors.  But
watch out if the USA editions of FHM, Maxim, Field & Stream etc ever
adopt the nude female centerfold as a monthly feature.  Could we tell
the difference?

David Reeves


>Donna Tavoso wrote (in part):
>
>In my opinion The New Yorker is not really a great comparison or a
>success story that Playboy would want to follow.  First of all they
>have had at least four, maybe more, editors since the founder, not
>surprising they were founded in the early 20's I believe.  However,
>more importantly they have huge trouble maintaining their rate base
>and ad revenue.  Second of all while the New Yorker is a great
>magazine, it's not a lifestyle and what makes Playboy unique is that
>it is both a magazine and a lifestyle.
>
>For me a better example is Cosmopolitan and Helen Gruly Brown.
>Similar to Hef, she launched a lifestyle with her magazine and her
>personality became intertwined with it.  She was Cosmo and when she
>announced that she was retiring no one thought she could be replaced
>-- but a new editor came in and found a way to keep the voice of Cosmo
>alive and relevant.  In fact the magazine is doing better than ever
>and even launched a spin off that is also thriving.  However, there is
>a difference here as well, Cosmo similar to Maxim constantly turns
>over it's readership base.  In effect, you outgrow the magazine and
>are replaced by new readers who grow into it.
>
>This is the true problem that confronts Playboy, few other magazines
>have subscribers that they maintain for such a long duration (Sports
>Illustrated is one)...
>
>Everyone that writes here talks about how
>they connected to the magazine in their youth, that is Jim Kaminsky's
>challenge -- one he was given by Hef (be mad at Jim about the PMOY
>cover, but do you think he did it without Hef's approval) to find a
>way to use the formula that Hef created and evolve it in a way that
>connects with the younger market -- all with out alienating the core
>reader...