The search for the ultimate Playmate - Playboy magazine talent search

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, June 1, 1993 by Erika Isler

AS PLAYBOY ENTERS MIDDLE AGE, IT BEGINS A FOUR-MONTH, CROSS-COUNTRY TALENT SEARCH THAT WILL BRING 10,000 NAKED AND SEMI-NAKED WOMEN THROUGH ITS DOORS.

Reaching into his psyche and rekindling an adolescent appetite to see the girl next door scantily clad (if clad at all), Hugh Hefner parlayed a common male fantasy into a solid, multimillion-dollar publishing empire.

In January 1994, the men's sophisticate will formally commemorate its entry into middle age with the magazine's 40th anniversary issue. And since all anniversary issues try to bring something a little special to their readers, Playboy Enterprises Inc. is spotlighting the year of celebration in its own inimitable fashion. At the corporate level, executives are drawing up plans for spin-off promotions, merchandising deals, sponsored events and special editorial features. The Official Playmate Camera, a Fuji QuickSnap Flash Camera bearing the signature rabbit head, is just one product extension.

The cornerstone of the festivities, of course, will be the coronation of a 40th anniversary Playmate. The search for the one young woman who will claim the title kicked off in early March in Los Angeles and will conclude this month in Toronto, Ontario. By the end of the search, say executives at the magazine, photographers and other staffers will have interviewed as many as 10,000 women in the United States and Canada. By comparison, for the magazine's 35th anniversary, Playboy execs met with approximately 4,500 women. This year, however, there are new markets to search and more cities to hit.

And the booty for the woman selected to represent Playboy's passage into its fourth decade? A $40,000 modeling fee and representation of the magazine and the company throughout the year.

The search kicks off

The first-floor studio at Playboy's Sunset Boulevard offices serve as the venue for interviews and test shots of Los Angeles-area Playmate hopefuls. There are none of the protesting voices and demonstrators' signs that often greet a Playboy caravan when Playboy arrives on college and university campuses. Instead, young women seated in the hallway thumb through issues of the magazine and quietly fill out forms.

The walls of the short hallway beyond the makeshift reception area are lined with larger-than-life-size Playmate portraits. Sporting little to nothing, unblemished, dewy-lipped Playmates gaze out over the corridor's occupants. The eyes of the waiting women glance upward at the posters and then quickly away.

The crowd is much like any attending an open call at a Hollywood studio. It's clear each hopeful has scoured her closet for the right look. For this occasion, though, the right look is a strictly personal call, although many of the contenders have plainly concluded that less is more. L.A.'s perennial spring/summer temperatures mean most have opted for shorts--some very short.

The oldest prospects are in their mid-20s, while the youngest look as though they have only recently stowed their high-school caps and gowns. Blonde hair predominates. From dangerously tall and runway-model-thin to average height with a few extra pounds, the women share only one common trait: a look of trepidation.

Beyond the purely physical

Interviewing between 25 and 30 women a day over the three days in Los Angeles, Playboy managing photo editor Jeff Cohen says that the competition is tough, and there is a lot more on the line than just posing for a few shots: "A big thing with this and with any search is that we ensure the privacy of these women. And we coach them through the process of what happens here and after they're here. We're very upfront and straightforward. Everyone tries to find the time to talk to the women, answer their questions and evaluate them."

Does that mean if a young woman doesn't have the right character, she's out of the Playmate race? The magazine's executives point out that the Playmate will represent the company the whole anniversary year--and as a diplomat thereof, there are more requirements than mere physical attributes.

After completing mandatory paperwork and heading on to the studio, each woman is met by Kim Mizuno, one of Playboy's contributing photographers. He introduces himself, shakes her hand, then passes her a white bathrobe and points to a screen. Behind the screen is the huge studio where each woman will shed her clothes and offer herself up in her most flattering bathing suit--or, as has happened many times at the Los Angeles location, where she will slide out of her clothes completely.

As a local pop radio station's tunes fill the studio, Mizuno eyes a folder that holds all the relevant data about the interviewee. A reassuring smile crosses his face as he directs a young woman just out of high school toward an X on the cloth backdrop. The woman, who is wearing white pumps, draws her robe a bit tighter across her midsection.

"Okay, first we'll do a full-body shot," explains Mizuno, instructing the woman to stand straighter and angle her body toward the camera a bit more. A single strobe goes off. Each click and growl of the Polaroid is followed by an encouraging "Good" and "Okay" from Mizuno. Mizuno directs the woman through an array of come-hither poses. Facing the backdrop now, the collar of the white robe slides down to the small of her back. The top of her right shoulder serves as a chin rest as her half-smirk grows wider. Minutes later, the young woman slides off her suit top and runs her fingers through long California-blonde hair, while her eyes lock onto Mizuno's camera. All the women were instructed beforehand to wear a bathing suit under their clothes, but more than not opted to shed it all.