CNN: Playboy to launch 'safe for work' site for office workers not allowed Playboy

[alexmst]

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/10/playboy-to-launch-safe-for-work-site/?hpt=T3

You just read it for the articles, huh? Well, now's your chance to prove it.

Playboy has announced plans to roll out a work-friendly website, targeting office workers who browse the internet from their desks but don't want to get caught reading the iconic men's magazine.

"Playboy’s TheSmokingJacket.com is the safe-for-work website that brings you everything you love about men's entertainment and the internet, minus the stuff that'll get you into hot water at the office," Playboy spokeswoman Theresa Hennessey said in a written statement.

The site is up but not active and will be launched "in the coming months," Hennessey said.

The announcement comes as Playboy seeks to reposition itself in an adult-entertainment landscape drastically altered by the internet. In short, if you're looking for pictures of naked women, there are plenty of other sites to find that (and more) for free.

Playboy Enterprises reported a net loss of $1 million in the first quarter of this year - actually better than what was predicted. The company reported a loss of $13.7 million during the same quarter last year.

"We believe that 2010 will be a transitional year and that the true benefits of our strategy will be more fully evident next year," Playboy CEO Scott Flanders said in a statement last month.

Presumably, The Smoking Jacket - a nod to founder Hugh Hefner's preferred brand of leisure wear - would be part of that transition.

After its monthly photo spreads of playmates, Playboy magazine is also known for celebrity interviews, short fiction by big-name authors, rankings of the nation's top party schools and other content.

But as tech blog Switched notes, "... if The Smoking Jacket will not feature buxom beauties au naturel, what exactly will drive traffic to the site?"

 

[alexmst]

I don't know...I think offices that block a host of sites such as Facebook, Playboy, etc might just add this new site to their blocked list as well, even if no pics are on it.

I guess the target audience is guys whose offices do not block their surfing sites, but whose bosses get annoyed when the tech guys print reports saying office worker X5648 looks at internet porn at work. So the excuse can be "Hey, but there are no pics on the site I was checking out at work today - just dirty talk..." LOL

 

[Berlin]

But as tech blog Switched notes, "... if The Smoking Jacket will not feature buxom beauties au naturel, what exactly will drive traffic to the site?"

What it said.

 

[GotGusto]

Another stupid idea. Why doesn't playboy just call it quits already.

 

[Berlin]

...well, the mag is still trying.

Playboy `Readers' Get 3-D Centerfold

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=10611284

Playboy readers who can only imagine what it would look like if a centerfold jumped right off the page are getting new specs to help them see into Hef's world.

The magazine's June edition hits newsstands Friday equipped with 3-D glasses. Now the toy that has kids dodging dragons, meatballs and tall blue aliens at the movies will help adults focus on what is, at first glance, a very blurry Playmate of the Year.

"What would people most like to see in 3-D?" asked Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. "Probably a naked lady."

Hefner makes no secret of hoping to capitalize on the popularity of 3-D movies such as "Avatar" and "How to Train Your Dragon," even as he makes no secret of not quite getting what all the fuss is about.

"I'm not a huge enthusiast of 3-D," he said in a telephone interview. "I leave real life to go to the movies and 2-D is fine with me."

If the thought of grown men sitting back in their recliners with a pair of 3-D glasses doesn't quite say "Playboy," it should be noted that a few months ago the magazine put Marge Simpson — yes, the blue-haired animated mother of Bart — on the cover and in a two-page centerfold.

"In today's print environment you have to create newsstand events," said the editorial director of the Chicago-based magazine, Jimmy Jellinek. "Marge Simpson was one of those."

Playboy certainly must do something to get more people, especially younger people, to buy a magazine that has seen circulation plummet from 3.5 million in 2006 to 1.5 million today.

Jellinek said he hopes the issue featuring centerfold Hope Dworaczyk in 3-D also reminds people that for all the infatuation with the Internet, there is nothing quite like having a magazine in your hands.

"People want things that last and have meaning," he said.

The thought hadn't occurred to Hefner. But, now that you mention it:

"This particular picture is one example of how books and magazines are different (than computer images)," he said. "You can hold it in your hands, save them, and as Dad used to, put them under the mattress." * LOL *