Can a naked Simpson save the Playboy bunny?
October 21st, 2009 by Marita Upeniece 
The unlikely twitterer, Hugh Hefner, set off an avalanche of retweets and made many of us smile with an announcement a few weeks ago that Marge Simpson will grace the front cover of Playboy’s November issue.
The first ever cartoon Playboy bunny, Marge, can indeed be seen stripped of her green dress in the magazine out this week. She has also bared her soul in an interview and donned sexy lingerie in a three-page spread to mark the 20th anniversary of the show.
The two American institutions have joined forces in a smart PR move and so far the campaign has been well-executed. Nude celebrity pictures are a proven method of getting coverage and the story was cleverly leaked to the online community via Twitter, causing it to spread like wildfire from Perez Hilton to The Guardian.
But is it all great news for both brands? Most people seem to think it’s either funny or weird. Perhaps funny and cute for The Simpson’s, but weird and desperate for Playboy?
The Simpson’s is well know for edginess and breaking taboos (remember the episode where Homer attempts to keep Bart ‘straight’ by taking him to the steel mill which turns out to be a gay disco?). I think putting Marge on the cover of Playboy will hardly shock fans of The Simpsons.
It’s a trickier move, however, for Playboy. Playboy Enterprises has suffered significant losses in the past two years and share price is now cheaper than an issue of the magazine itself. Its flagship brand is in dire need of a turnaround and takeover rumours are circulating.
Will this move be too late for the company and more importantly, is it the right one? The new chief executive, ironically called Scott Flanders (Flanders being the Simpsons’ uptight neighbour) has said that the stunt is part of a plan to appeal to a younger generation of readers.
The November issue is sure to be a sell-out and may even become a collectable, but everything else inside has to be spot on and relevant to audiences old and new if Playboy wants to ensure that the readers return to the magazine stand for upcoming issues in months to come.
Tags: Hugh Hefner, Marge Simpson, Playboy, Scott Flanders, The Simpsons
