To say Playboy magazine closing the coffin on their nude photo shoots is an end of era wouldn’t quite do this scenario justice. For longer than half a century, the Bunny has been a genericized icon for a human’s first encounter with the sexual nature as you would be hard-pressed to find an adult without a Playboy story to share that wouldn’t leave them red in the face.
No, Playboy ending their R-rated content is the end of generation; a much-needed change due to the rise and accessibility of the Pornhubs of the world and a change that seems to immediately being paid off. According to statistics made available to The New York Times, Playboy’s website traffic–following the switch to a PG-13 template–jumped from four million unique users per month to around 16 million and the average reader’s age shrunk from 47 to just over 30.
The decision to clean things up came after Playboy Chief Content Officer Cory Jones had a talk with the face of the company, Hugh Hefner last month during a meeting at the Playboy Mansion. The publication’s intelligent and self-aware articles–from both men and women–has long been a best kept secret in the realm of journalism and the executives decided it was time to allow that wave to steer the brand.
“The magazine will adopt a cleaner, more modern style, Jones said of the mirroring to its website. “A little more accessible, a little more intimate.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Jones added in conclusion. “12-year-old me is very disappointed in current me. But it’s the right thing to do.”
—
Photo: Playboy
