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So, Playboy HD, the iPad edition of the world’s best known adult magazine, will be text rather than image driven.  The news that naked ladies won’t be the primary feature of Playboy on the iPad has become huge news around the world, with tech blogs and mainstream press all commenting on the situation.  The reason for this is clear, Playboy is known for showing models in a state of undress and Apple is known for its strict no-show rules regarding exactly this type of content.

The amusing thing is, Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner seems almost to agree with this stance, publicly anyway, as he doesn’t describe Playboy as ‘pornography’, but rather as ‘erotica‘, which he regards as something else entirely.  He also seems concerned by what he has described as the ‘Pandora’s box’ of Internet pornography which ‘can’t be closed anymore’.  Do these sound like the words of a man who publishes an adult magazine?  No, but they certainly link into Steve Jobs’ statement that he wants to ‘keep the iPad free from porn’.

Well, between the pair of them, the App Store has stayed safe from the scourge of an uncut edition of Playboy, as the Playboy Centerfold will be a head shot and the many and various photoshoots will feature models dressed in attire suitable for the beach.  Of course, you’ll get to read all the articles along with the famous Playboy interview for your $4.99.

How then, does this fit with the idea of Hugh Hefner as a freedom of speech champion and crusading liberal described in Brigitte Berman’s documentary Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist, and Rebel?  It doesn’t even sound like the man who established the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award either.

It’s not, and everyone talking about Playboy on the iPad being ‘censored’ is missing the point.  The Playboy HD app is an advert, in the same way that The House Bunny movie was and the myriad examples of Bunny-symbol merchandising still is.  It’s widely known that Hugh Hefner wants to take Playboy private and rebuild the brand that has been in steady decline for 30 years.  How will he do all this?  By providing another cutdown version of Playboy to sell to those who maybe can’t yet buy the magazine, but will buy into the Playboy ‘lifestyle’, before picking up the real thing in print or online.

There is no censorship and no selling-out involved in bringing the Playboy magazine to the iPad.  Hugh gets his advertising and Steve keeps adult content out of the App Store without losing the important connection and revenue stream.  The thing is, is anyone going to buy it?