Playboy was founded by the then 27-year-old Hugh Marston Hefner and was first released in december 1953 on the american market.

With over 3 million copies in the USA and 4.5 million magazines worldwide, playboy is the world's leading men's magazine.

Art Paul, first director of the Playboy, designed the renowned bunny head, which has been used since the second issue and is still in use today in its original form.

But why is it a bunny with a bow tie?

Hugh Marston Hefner explains:

"I chose the bunny as a symbol for the magazine because of the funny sexual connotations, and because it represents something a little undecent yet playful.

I made it wear a smoking to add a little finesse.

There was also another thought that played a role: "The New Yorker" as well as "Esquire" use men as their symbols, so i thought the idea of a bunny in a smoking stood out in the crowd. It seemed charming, amusing and right."

Art Paul adds:

„Had i known how important that little bunny would get, i would probably have redrawn it dozens of times to do it right. I don't think any other version would have become as good as the original.

In the end, i only made one single drawing and it took me just half an hour."

In 1959, the Playboy Bunny was so well-known that a letter to the editor by a new yorker resident, tagged only with the bunny head and no delivery address, reached the playboy editorial office.

The Playboy logo and the Playboy Writing are said to be one of the best-known trade marks in the world.

 

 

Playboy-Writing