Hefner’s 3-D Girly Magazine and Scary Fun Bags

This just seems like a case of lame technology run amok.  The June issue of Playboy features a 3-D centerfold. Not the Avatar IMAX 3-D stuff, we’re talking the old school red and blue glasses kind of 3-D.

“What would people most like to see in 3-D?” asked Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. “Probably a naked lady.”

Hefner makes no secret of hoping to capitalize on the popularity of 3-D movies such as “Avatar” and “How to Train Your Dragon,” even as he makes no secret of not quite getting what all the fuss is about.  “I’m not a huge enthusiast of 3-D,” he said in a telephone interview. “I leave real life to go to the movies and 2-D is fine with me.”

If just seems like a desperate grab at relevance for the once venerable American institution that was Playboy. A 3-D Playmate of Year follows on the heels of having Marge Simpson  on the cover and in a two-page centerfold.  Personally if you’re going to feature animated hotties why not Lois Griffin, Betty Rubble, or Josie and the Pussycats.

Playboy’s editorial director, Jimmy Jellinek, defended the Simpson issue saying, “In today’s print environment you have to create newsstand events Marge Simpson was one of those.”  Playboy apparently needs more events since the magazine has seen its circulation plummet from 3.15 million in 2006 to 1.5 million today.

Jellinek said he hopes the issue featuring centerfold Hope Dworaczyk in 3-D also reminds people that for all the
infatuation with the Internet, there is nothing quite like having a magazine in your hands.  “People want things that last and have meaning,” he said.

The thought hadn’t occurred to Hefner. But, now that you mention it:  “This particular picture is one example of how books and magazines are different (than computer images),” he said. “You can hold it in your hands, save them, and as Dad used to, put them under the mattress.”

Have “meaning”?  Hold in your hands?  First off it’s Playboy not Fabergé egg.  Regarding the “hands on” experience– wasn’t that the appeal of the internet?  Being able to go handsfree as it were…

Hefner notes there also are plenty of good old-fashioned 2-D pictures of Dworaczyk – the 51st Playmate of the Year, for those counting. 3-D may be all the rage, but Hefner said he first thought of using it when he launched his magazine in the 1950s.

“I actually signed a photographer to shoot two nude women in 3-D in Chicago,” he said. But he scrapped the idea
when he discovered how expensive it would be to include the glasses.

This time around, HBO is helping out. HBO wanted a creative way to promote its show “True Blood,” and having Playboy include 3-D glasses with the show’s name on them seemed a good way to do it, said Playboy spokeswoman Theresa Hennessey.

So basically, Hef is living out a kind of publishing fantasy.  Which is fine.  I just wish I could figure out what the heck the creators of the Girlfriend Pillow were going for.  If the idea is creep me out and confuse me then, mission accomplished.  The actual product and the description are symptom of something wrong in our society.

Do your wife’s business trips make you uneasy at bed time? Perhaps the fact that you don’t have her around to shares your dreams makes it harder for you to fall sleep. This comfortable pillow recreates the comfort of having your beloved partner.

Thinking about the fact of sleeping alone produce a isolated feeling, especially if you are used to have a soft and comfortable arm or maybe you are enjoy a better sleep when you locate your neck in your girlfriend or wife’s breast. This hug pillow has an extension that replicates the soft arm of your partner and also adds a breast-like sensation on the pillow, giving all the contour of your love one.

Your days of uncomfortable nights are over. Whether your wife is away working or you broke up with your girlfriend, this hug pillow will maintain the comfort of your sleep. The Girlfriend Pillow imitates the contour of your loved one at your side while you sleep.

I’ll pass.  My significant other is not built like a bean bag, nor does she have one arm.  It has kind of a Boxing Helena for kids vibe to it.