Playboy Spanks Parents (Magazine)

Talk about tough times for magazines. Meredith’s Parents thought a trade campaign comparing itself to Playboy would be a fun way to help it sell advertising, but Playboy’s legal department didn’t seem to agree.
 
The “What Do Parents Magazine and Playboy Have in Common?” ad shows Playboy founder Hugh Hefner appearing to hold a copy of Parents and points out that the two titles rank high in reader engagement.
 
“This was just a fun way of drawing attention to our shared success, with another iconic brand, albeit one that has a very different brand DNA,” Brian Kightlinger, group associate publisher and director of sales for Meredith’s Parents Network, said in an e-mail.