Playboy magazine has backtracked on its pledge to ban nudity, revealing that it will be bringing back naked photoshoots for its next issue.
The policy to ban full-frontal nudity was introduced one year ago, in an attempt to boost advertising revenue and ailing sales figures. It has now been scrapped by Cooper Hefner – the magazine’s new chief creative officer, and son of original founder Hugh Hefner.
“I’ll be the first to admit that the way in which the magazine portrayed nudity was dated, but nudity was never the problem because nudity isn’t a problem,” Cooper said in a statement. “Today we’re taking our identity back and reclaiming who we are.”
The news was announced on Twitter, along with a look at the new Elizabeth Elam-fronted cover, and an accompanying marketing hashtag: “#NakedIsNormal.” In an essay written in the issue, Cooper reportedly called the change a “swing back to tradition.”
“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,” he wrote. “It is a reflection of how the brand can best connect with my generation and generations to come.”
Playboy originally scrapped nudes for last year’s January/February issue. Unfortunately for the magazine, while the change helped it become more visible on newsstands, it didn’t help boost subscription rates or spiralling sales. At the time, Cooper called the move a “massive step back.”
Read: Is Playboy’s new SFW cover more problematic than its nude?
