D'oh! 12 more seasons before we see Lois?
I have a sense of humor. I really do. And I, ahem, read the articles. But why Marge Simpson is posing for Playboy is beyond me.
Maybe Murdoch hopes to rejuvenate the "Simspons" brand. Or is it Hef hoping to lure Maxim readers back through the rabbit hole? For that matter, didn't Maxim have the dirt on Marge back in '04, making Playboy guilty of copycat-- er, copybunnying?
CNN sauces it up:
Playboy's lackluster showing as of late can be attributed to two things, [Media Industry Newsletter online editor-in-chief Steve] Cohn said. One, the audience transferred some of their desire for tastefully disrobed women to the Web. Second, Hugh Hefner got old.
"The reason for their audience shift can be seen in Hugh Hefner. I went to college in the '70s and Hefner was in his 40s back then. He was the symbol for what kind of guy I wanted to be," Cohn said. "Now he's in his 80s -- it's hard to identify with someone like that. That's a problem for Playboy."
Almost makes you wonder if a good chunk of the Twitter generation has even heard of Hugh Hefner. Regardless, it's harmless fun and PEI expects to sell out the issue to honorary citizens of Springfield across the globe. I will say that, in doing extremely NSFW research for this article, I was impressed to see use of social media tools throughout the site, including a slick AJAX toolbar resting at the bottom of the browser chrome chock full of widgets. (Ah, there I go talking like a web geek again...)
It plays well for FOX, too. They shot some carrot juice into a 20-year-old brand competing with the "Girl Next Door" and the rest of the Griffins. The two shows trade friendly barbs on-air while jockeying for top-of-hour Sunday night slots, and it's fun to watch who's winning (answer: FOX). Aside from cancelling "Family Guy" twice, taking a chance on Seth MacFarlane proved to be pivotal in building needed street cred for the "fourth" network. Two decades ago, BBSes were long-living Matt Groening. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation and the voice of Quahog wouldn't be pitching Windows 7.
Alas, at least one blogger agrees with me that another TV mom should be in the spotlight. God Bless Animation Domination.
Comments [0]