Playboy Tries Out Interns, Tries to Look Relevant

Playboy has definitely faced some challenges over the past few decades, not the least of which is that now, thanks to the internet, getting a chance to see a pair of naked breasts just isn’t that big of a deal and certainly not worthy of payment.

Sure, some will claim Playboy has always been more than boobs, and while it is true that they have had some incredibly good people write for them in the past they have never been a business built on literary laurels.

With Hef on his last legs and his daughter stepping down as head of Playboy Industries, it is a big moment for the company.  Will they be able to reinvent themselves for a new generation or will they suffer a fate similar to that of newspapers made irrelevant in today’s webby world?

If Playboy’s first original webseries is any sign of things to come I can’t say that things look good for their future.

“Interns” follows three 20-s0methings who are taking part in a seemingly fabricated internship at Playboy.  Instead of taking a tongue-in-cheek approach like, say, ESPN has done with “Mayne Street,” “Interns” plays it straight, hoping that somehow young people will be excited to see just how dull and tedious it really is to work for a magazine publisher, even with all the bunnies hopping around.

Since this is an attempt to get more mainstream there isn’t even any nudity in the series.  In fact, it is clean enough that MySpace hosts their dedicated channel.

Every webseries faces a similar challenge: how to break through all the noise and distraction and get a dedicated audience to follow along over a number of episodes.  So far, “Interns” is getting just over 100,000 views/episode over on MySpace.  Considering the name recognition and potential these numbers seem pretty low.  Check out the most recent episode and you’ll understand why…

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Zinio On the iPhone – Free Magazines (even Playboy…)

Image via Wikipedia

Ok, I am not sure how they are able to do this but if you go to www.zinio.com/iphone in your iphone safari browser you can read perfect digital scans of tons of major magazines (even Playboy and Penthouse…).

Can’t tell is these are all the most recent newstand issues or if they are only letting you get a look at previous issues but either way this is pretty cool and the interface is neat to.

Looks like another nail in the coffin for Dead Tree Media.

Playboy Fails to Get a Rise Out of YouTubers (hah, I made a punny!)

It is a dark day in the webosphere when amateur models trying out for Playboy can’t find viewers on YouTube and it appears that dark day is here.

According to SAI, Playboy’s channel on YouTube was set up to find a new model for the 55th Anniversary issue.  Sure, those submitting videos had to adhere to the YouTube rule, so no nudity but still…

“The top-viewed entrant, Destiny White of Muncie, Indiana, has a mere 98,890 views over the past month. That’s about 1 million less than this guy and his puppets generated in a week. Only 16 of the videos submitted so far have more than 10,000 views. C’mon, YouTube! Playboy is counting on you to pick their January 2009 playmate!”

What conclusions can we draw from this?  Well, considering how much real porn there is on the internet, offering not-porn posing as porn is probably not going to be a big hit.  Is this really a sign that there aren’t lots of people (ok, men) interested in helping choose the next centerfold?  I don’t think so.  Instead, I think Playboy’s partnership with YouTube was a poor choice.  YouTube just isn’t the place for this kind of promotion any more than it would be at home on CBS.

As they say in real estate, location, location, location.

Magazines Try Web Video…Fail.

AdAge (reg. req.) has some commentary on magazines attempts to incorporate web video on their sites.  I was shocked to learn that it seems they are doing a pretty poor job.

“…it dawned on me just how screwed most of these magazine companies really are. In their rush to cash in on web video, most seem to have convinced themselves that sloppily edited six-minute clips pass for must-see content. It’s as if the very act of creating something that moves and talks has blinded producers and editors to the dullness of their creations.”

Obviously, magazines are struggling and the web is an obvious place for them to grow and expand, but they are not going to get anywhere fast by producing low-quality, low-thought videos.

My favorite bad video from the article:

Playboy’s Ask Hef