Are you missing Playboy yet? Last month, the magazine announced it would cease printing its magazine for the remainder of the year amid the coronavirus outbreak. In an open letter shared on publishing platform Medium, Playboy’s CEO Ben Kohn explained that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the company to “accelerate a conversation” they had been having internally.
Kohn wrote “as the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic to content production and the supply chain became clearer and clearer, we were forced to accelerate a conversation we’ve been having internally: the question of how to transform our U.S. print product to better suit what consumers want today, and how to utilize our industry-leading content production capabilities to engage in a cultural conversation each and every day, rather than just every three months. With all of this in mind, we have decided that our Spring 2020 Issue, which arrives on U.S. newsstands and as a digital download this week, will be our final printed publication for the year in the U.S.”
Well, amidst the mourning and wails, comes news that Playboy has now launched Playboy Live on Instagram.
Bring on the aaaahs.
The new Playboy Live features a series of real-time videos starring the Playboy’s Playmates and adult stars. The live videos showcase the stars giving tutorials on activities to do at home (get your mind out of the gutter) where most people are cooped up under widespread lockdown measures.
Using the tagline, “Stay in. Get off,” Playboy Live allows Instagrammers to tune in and watch the first Trans Asian Pacific Islander Playmate, Geena Rocero, cook in her kitchen. Yes, she has clothes on.
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Adult star Misty Stone teaches physical therapy in another segment, while adult star Joanna Angel guides viewers through a workout in another (again mind out of the gutter). In other videos: Playmate Anita Pathammavong gives an oral eading, Jordy Murray reveals her personal workout routine and adult star Angela White reviews past Playboy editorials.
Once based in Chicago. Playboy magazine first launched in 1953 and became widely known for publishing semi-nude and nude images of female models. In 2015, it was announced that from March 2016 the publication would no longer publish nude pictures.
However, a year later the company backtracked on this decision.
In the last month, Instagram Live usage has skyrocketed as the vast majority of the country operates under state or local stay-at-home orders. If you have the app, you’ve probably seen a spike in notifications. One person familiar with Instagram’s internal data told TheWrap there was a 70% surge in people using Instagram Live in mid-to-late March compared to February. Playboy has 8.4 million Instagram followers.
Well the Reel 360 plans to follow Playboy Live’s advice and stay in. Advertising Age first reported this.
SOURCE: Playboy
