Playboy Expo Web Site Up and Humming as Fans Sign On for July 17-18 Event

Business Wire, June 29, 1999

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--June 29, 1999--

Playboy Online's enormously popular free Web site (www.playboy.com) has added a micro-site spotlighting the upcoming first-ever Playboy Expo July 17 and 18 at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Calif.

Playboy Expo will feature more than 200 Playboy magazine Playmates plus Hugh Hefner, guest celebrities, Playboy writers, artists and cartoonists, Playboy products and more is already working well beyond anticipations.

Exclusive off-site ticket agent for the weekend-long Playboy extravaganza is Ticketmaster, which reports that 40 percent of ticket purchases for the event are already originating on the Expo Web page. According to Ticketmaster, for comparable events, only about 15 percent of sales originate from Web sites, with the remainder of off-site ticketing done by telephone or through Ticketmaster's retail store locations.

A Ticketmaster executive commented: "I've seen considerable growth in Web site ticket sales over the past few years, but I've never seen anything like this!"

The Playboy Expo micro-site pops up from the Playboy Online home page with a rendering of the now-famous Playboy Times Square billboard, modified to include the animated message: "It's The Party of the Century, And You're Invited!"

The site includes editorial coverage and image galleries profiling the history of Playboy and founder Hugh M. Hefner, the story of the Playboy Bunny, Playmate representatives of the magazine's five decades, a look "inside" the Playboy Mansion and a sweepstakes with a grand prize of two invitations to the Playmate of the Year 2000 party.

The site also provides an "Expo Planner" which includes detailed information on each day's activities at the Expo held at the renowned Pacific Design Center.

Tickets for the Playboy Expo, July 17 and 18, are $20 per day and are available at the door or through Ticketmaster at 800/322-2525, online at www.ticketmaster.com, at Tower Records, Robinson's May, The Wherehouse, Tu Musica, Ritmo Latino or, of course, through the Playboy Expo Web page at www.playboy.com.