Playboy bringing back naked pictures
Playboy is bringing back naked pictures.
Over a year after announcing that it would no longer feature naked pictorials, bosses at the magazine have admitted that they made a "mistake".
Connor Hefner, 25, who took up the post of Chief Creative Officer last October, tweeted: "I’ll be the first to admit that the way in which the magazine portrayed nudity was dated, but removing it entirely was a mistake. Nudity was never the problem because nudity isn’t a problem. Today, we’re taking our identity back and reclaiming who we are."
Naked pictorials will next appear in the March/April 2017 issue of the magazine, which has been given the title ‘Naked Is Normal’.
In October 2015, Playboy CEO Scott Flanders revealed the decision for the magazine to abandon its policy of featuring nude pictures after 62 years, kicking off with the March 2016 issue.
He explained they decided to make the change because of the popularity of online pornography.
He said: "That battle has been fought and won.
"You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture."
In August 2015, the Playboy website was given a makeover and made safe to read at work, resulting in younger readers and an increase in web traffic.
Former Chief Content Officer of the magazine, Cory Jones, said the redesigned magazine would be more accessible and more intimate.
However, he admitted: "12-year-old me is very disappointed in current me. But it’s the right thing to do."
Playboy was first published in 1953 with Marilyn Monroe on the cover.
It went public in 1971, but was taken private again in 2011 by Hugh Hefner and investment firm Rivzi Traverse Management.
The firm owns around 60 per cent, while the publication’s founder owns 30 per cent and the remaining shares are held by Playboy management.
