Marge Simpson poses for cover of 'Playboy'

Everyone has a favorite MILF, but how many of those are animated? Well, cartoon-MILF lover, your day has come: Marge Simpson will appear on the November cover of Playboy. The plan is to attract "younger readers" to the mag, and believe it or not, this is actually part of Fox's 20th Anniversary Simpsons Celebration. Marge is the first cartoon character ever to appear on the Playboy cover, and this collector's item will be available only on newsstands. Playboy has even struck a deal with 7-Eleven (which has done a lot of Simpsons promotions, including changing stores into Kwik-E-Marts) to carry the magazine, something it's done only once before in the past 20 years. As 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris put it: "We love Marge." (Eww). Marge recreates Darine Stern's pose when she became the first black woman to appear on Playboy's cover. Though the outside is tasteful, Playboy assures us the inside will be, "very, very racy." Of course, the tarting-out of Marge, an icon of devoted motherhood, could be risky. But if I know Playboy, they're fully committed to breaking the boundaries of objectification, whether they come in black, white or banana yellow.

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

Previously on AdFreak:
Fox plans a giant 'Simpsons' birthday party

Published on October 14, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Cullers, Fox, Magazines, Playboy, Simpsons

Playmates give Hefner a 'Guitar Hero' show

Here's the new Guitar Hero 5 spot from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, in which 10 Playmates put on an air-guitar show for Hugh Hefner in the Playboy Mansion. "What? I like variety," Hef says at the end. Actually, the campaign could use more variety. This is the fifth spot in the Risky Business series. See the earlier ones here, with Heidi Klum, the pro athletes (A-Rod, Phelps, Bryant, Tony Hawk), the college-basketball coaches (Knight, Pitino, Williams, Krzyzewski) and the guys from Metallica. For the next spot, maybe let Pitino into the Playboy Mansion and see what happens.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on September 9, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Celebrity endorsements, Crispin Porter, Guitar Hero, Nudd, Playboy, Video games

Playboy TV pities you and your lame reality

Zig unzips an ad campaign for Playboy TV with the tagline, "A better reality awaits." Ads contrast the cable net's fare with less attractive "realities." In the spot above, the alternative to Playboy TV is a faux Bachelor-type reality show called Eligible Women. Oddly, it actually looks pretty cool, with a curvy blonde threatening the "catty wenches" who are competing against her. "Keep barking and I'll eat your faces off!" she yells at them. Whoa, I'd like to see that! Forget the lame bikini soft-core footage from Playboy TV's real shows that runs at the close of the spots. Those may be reality shows, but they're about as "real" as Eligible Women. C'mon, let her chew on some face! I'll bet she could take those three beanpoles at the top of the stairs with one hand tied behind her back.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on March 20, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Gianatasio, Playboy, Zig

Burton's 'Playboy' snowboards: cool or not?

Burton is trying to heat up the ski slopes this winter with a new line of Playboy-branded snowboards, but the effort is getting a chilly reception in Vermont. As one (female) Vermonter told Boston.com: "When you really think about it, it's a young man standing on top of a naked woman's body. I probably could have gotten past it, because I try to have an open mind, but seeing it like that, it's offensive." My first thought, since I'm so darn progressive, was: It could also be a young woman standing atop a naked woman's body. (Well, it could be!) The city council in Burton's hometown of Burlington, Vt., might ask the company to withdraw the boards. And the Girl Scout Council of Vermont is considering taking its own concerns to lawmakers next month. (Perhaps they'll bring along some of those chocolate sandwich cookies—those can be convincing.) In any case, the story is generating some free press coverage for Vermont's ski areas, and I almost made it through this entire post without saying "snow bunnies."

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on January 5, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (11)
Filed under Burton, Controversy, Gianatasio, Playboy

Hot women love dudes who spit brown juice

First off, I had no idea that smokeless-tobacco dippers considered themselves a "brotherhood," though I guess inbreeding could explain why they persist with such a dangerous and disgusting vice. Which brings us to the Mad Men-era vice of Playboy magazine, which is publishing a 12-page co-branded Skoal advertising supplement with its 55th anniversary issue in January. Voters at SkoalBrotherhood.com chose playmate Kara Monaco (she's pretty hot, but that won't last if she dips) and rodeo/football star Walt Garrison (soon to be jawless) as the lead interviewees for the section. Skoal, which is celebrating its own 75th birthday, says site visits jumped almost 400 percent during the promo, which suggests the product is just as deadly to brain tissue as it is to mouths, cheeks and gums. Speaking of which: Here's that jawless guy from last year's Canadian anti-dip campaign, one of AdFreak's freakiest campaigns of 2007. (Keep watching this space for our 2008 freakiest-ad contest.) Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to chew some sugar-free gum. Mmmm, delicious. And it's not rotting my face!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on December 16, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Gianatasio, Magazines, Playboy, Skoal