A magazine is a collection of articles written and published in monthly, weekly, quarterly or annual periodicals. It contains a variety of content ranging from education to fashion to lifestyle.
Magazines are printed on glossy, matte paper, making them attractive to readers. Two magazines, which are very popular as men’s in the United States and Kingdom, are Playboy and Penthouse.
Key Takeaways
- Playboy and Penthouse are two popular men’s magazines that differ in their target audience, content, and approach.
- Playboy is more mainstream and focuses on lifestyle and entertainment, while Penthouse is more explicit and focuses on adult entertainment.
- Playboy has a larger readership and is more widely recognized, whereas Penthouse has a more niche following.
Playboy vs Penthouse
Playboy magazine articles are written well compared to Penthouse magazine. The models at the centre of the attraction and stylised by Penthouse are known as Penthouse Pets. In terms of content, Playboy is less explicit than Penthouse, which has pornographic pictorials.
Playboy magazine was started in 1953 in the United States. It was published in print, but then it switched to the online mode. Playboy is said to be important in bringing about the sexual revolution.
It is considered one of the best brands worldwide. It is widely published in the States, but the special/limited edition is published worldwide.
Penthouse Magazine became popular in the 1990s and emerged as a hardcore magazine. It was founded in the United Kingdom in 1965 and eventually in the United States in 1969.
Its logo is a type of stylised key with the features of Mars and Venus in its design. It was created to compete with Playboy.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Playboy | Penthouse |
|---|---|---|
| Founded by | Playboy was founded by Hugh Hefner in Chicago, along with his friends. | Bob Guccione founded the penthouse. |
| Logo | It has the mascot of a rabbit wearing a tuxedo tie. | It has a logo of a key that shows both Mars and Venus. |
| Published | Playboy is published monthly, bi-monthly and quarterly. | Penthouse is published monthly only. |
| Owned by | Playboy Enterprises own it. | It is owned by WGCZ Ltd.(the owners of XVideos) |
| Popular for | Playboy is known for bringing the sexual revolution to America. | Penthouse is known for its softcore pornographic pictorials, which evolved into hardcore. |
What is Playboy?
Playboy is an American men’s magazine started by Hugh Hefner and his friends in Chicago in 1953. It is said to have brought the sexual revolution to the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.
It is notable for its centrefold of nude and semi-nude models. It is one of the best-known brands in the world, and Playboy Enterprises Ltd owns it.
Apart from being published in the United States, it also publishes special nation-specific editions worldwide.
Playboy magazines also publish short stories from famous novelists like Arthur C. Clarke, Saul Bellow, Roald Dahl, Haruki Murakami, and Margaret Atwood.
It also displays the full page of colour cartoons and has become the favourite showcase of famous cartoonists like Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Cole, Rowland B. Wilson etc.
It features the interviews of famous public figures ranging from artists to film directors to journalists, athletes, playwrights, race car drivers, religious figures etc., in its monthly editions.
It has one of the most iconic and enduring mascots, a stylised silhouette of a rabbit wearing a tuxedo bow tie. According to Hefner, rabbit implies a humorous sexual connotation.
The first issue of Playboy featured Marilyn Monroe on its cover page in Dec 1953.
What is Penthouse?
Penthouse is a men’s magazine with urban lifestyle articles and pornographic pictorials. In the 1990s, it became hardcore.
Founded by Bob Guccione in the United Kingdom in 1965 and then in America in 1969 to compete with Playboy Magazine.
It has content that is much more explicit and sensational than Playboy. It has also published investigative stories, and exposed numerous scandals and corruption at the highest level in the United States Government.
The magazine’s pictorials featured much more sexually explicit content commonly sold in that era, especially in men’s magazines. Over the years, it featured many authorised and unauthorised photos of celebrities.
In 2003 the parent company of the magazine General Media went bankrupt. Later in 2018, all the assets of magazines were brought out by WGCZ Ltd.
It also publishes international editions in countries like Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Russia, Thailand etc. It comes every month. It has a logo of a stylised key that incorporates Mars and Venus in its design.
The centrefold models of Penthouse Magazines are known as Penthouse Pets, which wears customised necklace based on the company’s logo.
Main Differences Between Playboy and Penthouse
- Hugh Hefner and his friends founded Playboy in Chicago in 1953. Bob Guccione founded the Penthouse in the UK in 1965.
- Playboy has the most iconic mascot of a stylised rabbit wearing a tuxedo tie. The Penthouse has a logo of a stylised key that shows Mars and Venus in its design.
- Playboy is published monthly, bi-monthly and quarterly with special nation-specific editions. Penthouse is published monthly only, with international editions as well.
- Playboy Enterprises Ltd. Penthouse owned Playboy by WGCZ Ltd.(the owners of XVideos in 2018 after it went bankrupt.
- Playboy is known for bringing the sexual revolution to America. Penthouse is known for its softcore pornographic pictorials, which evolved into hardcore.
- https://search.proquest.com/openview/aa2426a0a6718e40c2ad40d14c58629e/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1819044
- https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF00287624.pdf
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