Playboy Takes Out The Nudity
August 23, 2007
In attempt to boost their bottom line, Playboy has decided to launch a social networking site for college age kids. Erm…, but there’s no nudity. The advertising supported site is to be called Playboy U and will offer all of the regular social networking tools. Right now, the website is in beta with a loading page that reads: “Get enrolled at Playboy U, an exclusive college-only non-nude social network. Here is where you can show your school pride, connect with other students and celebrate the social side of college.” The site has managed to get 2,000 members from 500 colleges for this test phase.
Scott Stephen, executive vice president of operations for Playboy’s entertainment division said, “We’re looking at this as a way to introduce and escort someone through their adult life.” Are you laughing yet? There’s more…
Circulation has been falling at Playboy for some time. And while it’s true that Playboy has done a good job of getting back into the cultural mainstream with their hit cable TV show, a Sirius radio channel and young Hollywood stars making the rounds of the Playboy mansion, setting up a social network this late in the game isn’t such a hot idea. Especially, when Playboy U is just like any other site. No nudity??? Really? Forget the full frontals of hot chicks. Instead, the site leaves all that yummy sex stuff to your imagination with pictures from the mansion and forum topics like “How Many People Have You Slept With? To Lie or Not to Lie.”
We are very skeptical. Again, if you want to show your school pride, there’s Facebook, which we’re betting almost all those .edu kids are already on. Questions like those above are being asked within friend networks on MySpace right now. We would totally understand if Playboy was going to start a “hook-up site.” It would ride a fine line legally, but remember when that was the whole point of MySpace? Everyone loved that aspect and isn’t that the true “social side of college?” We’re guessing that they get a few frat boys and some gals who are one step away from a “Girl’s Gone Wild” video to sign up, but the majority of college students will stay away. If only because joining yet another social networking site and dragging all your friends is a very hard sell if you aren’t offering anything new.
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