Who Reads Playboy?
Provocative and informative, Playboy is America's best-selling men's magazine. Playboy is read by more than 10.3 million people in the U.S. - of which two million are women. The magazine is primarily aimed at men in their twenties and thirties, but is read by men and women of all ages.
What You Can Expect in Each Issue:
Whatever goes on between a man's ears is a convenient way to sum up the content of Playboy. Prominent among its features are the pictorials, which showcase women ranging from the girl next door to world-famous celebrities, but also includes sports, entertainment, politics, social trends, developments in the areas of sex and romance, short fiction and compelling articles on behalf of a wide variety of subjects.
- Pictorials: Featuring the world's most beautiful women, as captured by some of the world's most talented photographers.
- ManTrack: New cars, sporting equipment, technology, furniture, travel destinations and other consumer goods.
- After Hours: A bemused tour d'horizon of current culture.
- Forum: Opinion and argument about political and social developments, often focusing on issues of personal freedom and expression.
- The Playboy Advisor: A column in which readers' questions about modern living, including love, sex, fashion, technology, etiquette and other topics are answered.
In each issue, Playboy features an in-depth interview with an important figure (recent subjects include Jack Nicholson, Nicole Kidman, Mathew McConaughey, Steve Nash, Mark Cuban, Tina Fey, Kanye West, Jay Z, Matt Groening, Gov. Bill Richardson, Arianna Huffington, Bill O'Reilly, and Thomas L. Friedman); and a shorter, lighter interview called 20Q (recent subjects include Danica Patrick, Charles Barkley, Jack Black, Fergie, Paul Rudd and Rachel Bilson).
Playboy delivers news-making and substantive journalism like "Death and Dishonor," the story of the brutal home-front murder of an Iraq War veteran that was the basis for the movie "In the Valley of Elah," and "Gunning for the Big Guy," an exclusive look into the story of BALCO and the illegal use of steroids in baseball. Other recent features include a joint profile of comedians Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman; a feature article about Howard Stern sidekick Artie Lange; a profile of LAPD chief Bill Bratton; and an article about sexual repression in fundamentalist Iran. Each issue also includes a piece of fiction, spotlighting the best of established and emerging talents.
Past Issues:
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Contributors:
Playboy's roster of contributors over the course of its history is second to none. It includes Norman Mailer, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Hunter S. Thompson, William F. Buckley Jr., Arthur Schlesinger Jr., John Cheever, Arthur C. Clarke, George Plimpton, Ray Bradbury and Shel Silverstein. Active contributors include Gore Vidal, Stephen King, John Updike, T.C. Boyle, Jonathan Safran Foer, Chuck Palahniuk, Richard Dawkins, Jeff Greenfield, Denis Johnson, Jimmy Breslin, Christopher Buckley, Jane Smiley, Margaret Atwood, Robert Coover, Jim Harrison and Nadine Gordimer.
Magazine Layout
The magazine offers a pleasing balance of attractive photography, lively illustration, and well-designed text.
Comparisons to Similar Magazines:
Playboy informs its entire editorial product (articles, photographs, and illustrations) with intelligence, wit, and sophistication. They provide readers with a unique editorial mix, including lifestyle service information, entertainment, interviews, politics, advice, women, sports, news features, and short fiction.
Playboy is an American icon. Smart, edgy and a bit provocative, Playboy has been the leading men's magazine for nearly the entirety of its 55 year existence, surpassing and outlasting all competitors and imitators.
Awards
Playboy has long been recognized for its design, art and writing, receiving more than 1,600 awards. Most recently, Playboy won eight design awards from Creativity, encompassing illustration, design and editorial photography. In 2007, Playboy was also nominated for a National Magazine Award for Fiction.
