Top 10 reasons why Penthouse is still valuable.
Written By
Richard Rivera
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Until the naked girls sing, don't count it out for Penthouse magazine. According to the New York Post, rumors are swirling that adult magazine, Penthouse, plans to be sold again by current owner – FriendFinder Networks. Although it has not been officially confirmed, the rumors came about shortly after Playboy’s no-more-nudes news was made public. Penthouse has gone through hard times since founder Bob Guccione filed the magazine for bankruptcy in 2003. Guccione’s publishing empire which included Spin, Omni, Longevity, and special-interest auto titles failed beneath insurmountable debt. Penthouse accomplished great success, once having a circulation of 4.5 million. Marc Bell bought Penthouse in 2006 and then went on to spend $500 million purchasing the adult online dating service FriendFinder, which includes FastCupid, PerfectMatch, and Christian dating service – Big Church. Bell then decided to take the whole operation public. A bankruptcy in 2013 wiped out a good portion of FriendFinder’s debt as well as its equity. It re-emerged as a private company with Andrew Conru at the helm – a Seattle-based Internet entrepreneur who is a cofounder of the original FriendFinder, and Stonehill Capital Management in New York. Regardless of how many hands Penthouse has passed through, the internationally recognized Penthouse brand has grown to include a variety of consumer merchandise bearing the famous marks, Penthouse Gentleman’s Clubs, several online properties and high-definition and 3D content shown all around the world. With rumors of a possible sale, here are 10 of the best reasons Penthouse magazine is still valuable.
10. Digital Publication
You can now get a Penthouse Digital Magazine subscription and go for an unforgettable spin with photos of the most beautiful women in the world, without ever leaving your computer screen and even your smartphone. The digital publication industry has only been around since 2010 – the birth year of the modern tablet industry. Digital magazines are far less static than traditional publications, given the devices they are viewed on and the intimacy of the user experience. Understanding how to properly produce content for a growing medium has been an exercise in passion and patience-requiring a set of skills that takes years to develop. Luckily, Penthouse magazine has made the switched well into the early years of the ongoing digital media revolution – if they can perfect the art of digital composition their future will look very bright.
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9. Penthouse Letters
For over 30 years, Penthouse Letters, “The Magazine of Sexual Marvels,” has been the leader in providing libido enhancement for all who are seeking new ways of attaining a more satisfying and rewarding sexual experience. Penthouse Letters provides an inspiring treasure trove of sexual situations and fantasies. “I never thought this would happen to me…” – a line made classic thanks to Penthouse Letters, which was once only a section reserved in the popular adult magazine for stories. For many years, these stories have been a staple of Penthouse, eventually becoming its own singular Penthouse publication.
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8. Penthouse Forum
For over 40 years, this digest-size magazine has had its finger on the pulse of America’s sexuality. These letters are presented in “potpourri” style and illustrated with explicit pictorials by some of the most well-respected names in erotic photography. Forum magazine is world renowned for its no-holds-barred honesty. Unlike the main Penthouse magazine, Penthouse Forum is more journalistic than pornographic and features editorials and opinion pieces on controversial contemporary topics. It features regular monthly columns titled "On the Boards," "On the Beltway," and "On the Edge." It also features a section for the "Letter of the Month." It is a valuable brand extension that reaches into the broader sexual-reader market.
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7. Penthouse Variations
Explore the wild world of fetishism, dominance, and submission with Penthouse Variations. Whether your kink is spanking or bondage, silky stockings or cross-dressing, you’ll find all that—and more—in the pages of Variations. Penthouse Variations is a monthly magazine containing ostensibly reader-generated erotic stories (primarily) and some pictures and reviews. It is a spin-off magazine from Penthouse Letters that was initially published in 1978. Variations focused on "kinkier" topics of sexuality such as bondage, fetish clothing, exhibitionism, voyeurism, foot fetishism, water sports, female dominance, bisexual exploration, transsexualism, and sadomasochism among others.
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6. Penthouse Australia
The Australian Penthouse delivers intelligence, irreverence and the world’s most beautiful women to Australian & New Zealand men every month. The Australian Penthouse has its own extensions of Pets, articles, pet cams, private girls, and the Black Label Club. Penthouse Australia includes Australia’s most sophisticated escort directory – the most desirable private girls, all gorgeous, exclusive, and 100% client verified. Additionally, the Penthouse Black Label Club offers the finest benefits including hotter girls, free Adult strip club entry, and other promotions. Penthouse Australia and its features certainly take a step into the future of adult entertainment.
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5. Penthouse Clubs
Penthouse Clubs are the premier gentlemen’s clubs in North America and throughout the world. Located in some of the most exciting cities – New York, Paris, San Francisco, and Moscow - each club is unique, though unmistakably Penthouse. Clubs are known for restaurants serving delicious food by award-winning chefs, a seductive and sophisticated atmosphere and most importantly, the beautiful Key Girls providing quality entertainment. Penthouse Clubs are where the Magazines come to life – a very smart and profitable brand extension indeed.
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4. Penthouse TV
Penthouse TV is an American premium adult entertainment television channel consisting of explicit adult material, primarily hardcore pornographic films. The channel's name is licensed from the men's magazine Penthouse. The channel is owned by Penthouse Media and distributed by New Frontier Media's The Erotic Network. Launched in December 2007, it was originally available only as a pay-per-view channel and video on demand service, but since mid-2011 it has been available as an a la carte monthly service. The channel has also announced plans to launch high definition and 3DTV feeds.
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3. Penthouse Store
PenthouseStore.com has been newly redesigned and revamped. It’s a shopping experience created to help loyal customers unlock the Lifestyle – the Penthouse lifestyle. Their new online retail store was created to give you a one-stop shop for all things Penthouse – a place to buy Penthouse branded products as well as items that will enhance your life and your attitude! Representing over 40 years of expertise in the world of quality consumer products and erotica, Penthouse knows what consumers desire and are determined to provide you with the best shopping experience possible on the all new PenthouseStore.com! – it welcomes us into the future of Penthouse.
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2. More Than Just Nudes
Penthouse, a men's magazine founded by Bob Guccione, combines urban lifestyle articles and softcore pornographic pictorials that, in the 1990s, evolved into hardcore. Originally brought to the States in 1969, the magazine quickly made history with pictorials of beautiful women combined with cutting-edge investigative journalism. Today, the magazine continues to be the ultimate publication for men interested in the pursuit of happiness as well as a crossover brand for sexually explorative women. The magazine's editorial content was once praised and recognized by those in the academic field. In 1975, for example, Guccione was honored by Brandeis University for focusing "his editorial attention on such critical issues of our day as the welfare of the Vietnam veteran and problems of criminality in modern society." Guccione was also praised by certain professional groups and associations for his dealings with them. In April 1978, he was named "Publisher of the Year" by the Atlantic Coast Independent Distributors Association in gratitude for his "leadership, his fair treatment and his continuing friendship with our members."
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1. Brand History
Penthouse came onto the scene in London in 1965, by Bob Guccione, who hinted with the very first mailing that priests, convents and members of the Parliament needed a little titillation too. By 1968, Penthouse was outselling Playboy 2-to-1 with the boys in Vietnam, so Guccione decided to take America by storm, moving headquarters to New York City in 1969. To announce the magazine’s stateside arrival, he took out the now infamous full-page New York Times “We’re going rabbit hunting” ad. Never one to just sit back and watch, for its 15th anniversary, Penthouse chose the first black Miss America ever, Vanessa Williams, to grace its cover, and bare it all on many pages in between. Over the next 10 years, Penthouse exposed the sexcapades of televangelist Jerry Falwell and the Clinton White House, and furthered its reputation for liberation, drawing some unexpected attention. In 1995, the Unabomber mailed his manifesto to only three publications: The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Penthouse. It is a brand 50 years in the making.
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The post Sex Still Sells And Other Reasons Penthouse Is Still Valuable appeared first on The Corporate Culture.