• by Larry Dobrow , June 12, 2003

In an interview five weeks ago, Playboy vice president and publisher Jim Dimonekas stated in no uncertain terms, "This magazine is not broken. It does not need to be fixed." On Tuesday, however, Dimonekas was relieved of his command, with associate publisher Diane Silberstein assuming the mag's top marketing post.

While some within the publishing community speculated that the switch was evidence of deeper problems at the venerable title, Silberstein dismissed such sniping. Insisting - like her predecessor - that "nothing here is broken," she detailed plans for reaching new advertisers and leveraging the Playboy brand for a host of marketing programs.

"Every strong product needs to evolve and prepare itself for the future, and that's what we're doing," she says.

Noting that she has worked at Playboy for four months, Silberstein does not anticipate any transition period and says she has heard "nothing but congratulations" from the magazine's marketing partners. At the same time, she is quick to note her ambitious plans for expanding the title's breadth of advertisers. She ranks men's-mag mainstays such as automotive, consumer electronics, and style and grooming as the ad categories in which she sees room for growth; the companies on the top of her wish list include Sony, General Motors and Calvin Klein.

"I want to make sure marketers know the many ways they can use the Playboy brand," Silberstein says.

The most recent Publishers Information Bureau audited data suggest that Silberstein has some work ahead of her. Between January and May, the magazine's ad pages were down 3.9 percent versus the year-ago period, though ad revenue inched up 2.5 percent. On the other hand, the magazine still boasts 3.15 million in paid circulation. And then there's the Playboy bunny icon, which still ranks alongside the McDonald's arches as one of the world's most recognizable.

Silberstein joined Playboy in February from Yahoo! Internet Life, where she served as publisher. Before that, she was publisher of The New Yorker and Elle, and held senior advertising posts at Allure and Vogue.