Well, that didn’t last long.
Playboy magazine will bring back nude models and launch a “Naked is Normal” campaign in its upcoming issue after a year of covering up centerfolds in a failed effort to help the magazine attract mainstream advertisers, COO Cooper Hefner announced in a tweet on Monday.
— Cooper Hefner (@cooperhefner) February 13, 2017
Cooper, the son of founder Hugh Hefner, said the 63-year-old magazine is “taking our identity back reclaiming who we are.”
Cooper also unveiled the latest creative evolution of the brand on Monday, including the return of Playboy’s “Party Jokes,” the debut of “heritage,” a section sharing the magazine’s point of view and the removal of “Entertainment for Men” from the cover.
“Playboy will always be a lifestyle brand focused on men’s interests, but as gender roles continue to evolve in society, so will we,” Hefner said.
One year ago in February 2016, Playboy unveiled the first cover of its non-nude era, featuring model Sarah McDaniel in a nod to millenials and social media. “The idea was to look at me from a boyfriend’s perspective,” McDaniel explained the theme of the cover in a statement at the time.
The non-nude format wasn’t a success and Cooper Hefner has been an outspoken opponent of the decision. He was named COO of the magazine last October.
“I’ll be the first to admit the way in which the magazine portrayed nudity was dated, but removing it entirely was a mistake,” Cooper said in his tweet, admitting the magazine botched the decision.
Pamela Anderson appeared on the cover of the last nude issue of the magazine, which was released in December 2015. The upcoming issue features Elizabeth Elam with the headline “Naked is Normal.”
“This is a remarkably special moment personally and professionally that I get to share this issue of Playboy magazine with my Dad, as well as with readers,” Cooper said. “It is a reflection of how the brand can best connect with my generation and generations to come.”