• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, August 8, 2024

Playboy, the leader among so-called adult magazines not long ago, is back. It will publish an annual print edition, filled with signature features like the Playboy interview and superior design. The first will appear in February 2025.  

The last print issue was published in 2020. 

Readers of a certain age will recall the content by world-class authors Vladimir Nabakov, the die-cuts and other stunning design features, the Ribald Classics done by Brad Holland and the Little Annie Fanny comic by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder. 

They will also remember the air-brushed centerfolds that critics like Nelson Algren said objectified women. Algren was exiled for his stance, but eventually was welcomed back into the magazine.

We can expect to see lifestyle features, like the ones that once covered cars, audio equipment and other accoutrements for the swinging bachelor, in the new Playboy. 

The Playmate of the Year will be back as well. Playboy is now conducting a search for the 2024 and 2025 winner. 

There also will be “a new class” of Playboy Bunnies, who will represent the brand at events.  

We hope these features will highlight the subjects for their full range of accomplishments.  

Presumably, we will not be served reprints of the late founder Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Philosophy. 

At the same time, Playboy has redesigned Playboy.com and launched ecommerce initiatives and features that embrace the creator economy, it says. 

Mark Healy will serve as editor in chief for the 2025 debut. 

“Playboy is the quintessential iconic brand, and it has always been more than a magazine—it is the original creator business that has launched hundreds of careers over the past seventy years,” says Ben Kohn, chief executive officer of PLBY Group. “Our mission is to return Playboy to prominence, and our Playboy Club creators will be integral to that effort.” 

Kohn adds, “We are partnering with them to develop content across all channels, including web, social, commerce, events and the print magazine.” 

Want to write for Playboy? There was a time when you couldn’t approach them – the saying was, “Don’t call them, they’ll call you.”

Welcome back.