Irene Kim: Playboy used to be everywhere.
花花公子曾经无处不在
Its best-selling issue sold over 7 million copies.
它最畅销的一期杂志销量超过700万册
In the early 2000s, Playboy's logo could be found on everything from jewelry to tattoos,
在21世纪初 从珠宝到纹身 花花公子的标志随处可见
and Bunnies were all over movie screens and reality TV.
电影和电视节目上也到处都是兔女郎
But Hugh Hefner's gone,
但其创始人休·海夫纳去世了
the original Playboy Clubs have closed,
花花公子俱乐部也关门了
and magazine sales have shrunk to less than 4% of what they used to be.
杂志的销量也比以前减少到不到4%
So, what happened?
那究竟发生了什么呢
In 1953, former copywriter Hugh Hefner saw a demand for a gentleman's magazine.
早在1953年 作为撰稿人的休·海夫纳看到市场对男性杂志的需求
Recruiting 45 investors who cobbled together $8,000,
就招募了45名投资人 共凑了8000美元
a young Hef was ready to launch what would become Playboy.
年轻的海夫纳就开始他的花花公子征程
Originally, Hefner wanted to call it Stag Party,
最初海夫纳想把杂志命名为《雄鹿派对》
but was challenged by Stag Magazine,
但这受到《雄鹿》杂志的反对
so a friend suggested the name Playboy, and it stuck.
一个朋友建议其命名为《花花公子》 就这样定下了
But Hefner himself came up with Playboy's now iconic logo.
花花公子的标志可是海夫纳自己想出来的
He thought a tuxedoed rabbit would be "cute, frisky, and sexy."
他认为穿燕尾服的兔子非常的可爱 活泼和性感
With no office to work out of,
由于还没有办公场所
Hef put the first issue of Playboy together in his apartment on the kitchen table.
海夫纳把第一期《花花公子》放在其公寓的餐桌上
The cover and centerfold featured Marilyn Monroe.
这期的封面和中插都是玛丽莲·梦露
But Monroe never posed for Playboy.
但梦露从未为花花公子拍过照片
Hefner bought old photos a struggling Monroe
这是海夫纳从挂历商那边买过来的老照片
had posed for under a pseudonym,
这些照片是梦露落魄的时候用假名拍的
having no idea they would eventually end up as a magazine feature.
梦露也从未想过这些照片会刊登在杂志上
The star was never paid for her Playboy debut.
这位明星也没从她的《花花公子》首发上获得任何报酬
Regardless, the first issue was released in December 1953.
不管怎样 第一期杂志于1953年12月出版了
A huge success, the magazine sold out of all 70,000 copies at $0.50 apiece.
这本杂志获得了巨大的成功 7万份全部以0.5美元一份的价格售出
Hefner immediately invested his profits back into Playboy, expanding his staff.
海夫纳立即把他的利润重新投资到《花花公子》杂志上 开始招兵买马
Circulation grew quickly, partly because of the magazine's lack of competition.
发行量迅速攀升 一个原因是该杂志当时没有竞争对手
But not only was Playboy one of the first
但花花公子杂志不仅仅只是刊登
to publish colored photographs of nude women,
女性的彩色裸体照片
its Playmate concept set it apart from the rest.
它的玩伴女孩概念让它与众不同
Each issue featured a "Playmate of the month,"
每期杂志都会推出一个"月度玩伴女孩"
starting with Hefner's then girlfriend and subscription-department employee
从海夫纳的女朋友和订阅部的一个员工开始
Charlaine Karalus, aka Janet Pilgrim.
她们分别是Charlaine Karalus和aka Janet Pilgrim
Hefner described Playmates as women who could be "the new secretary at your office"
海纳夫将玩伴女孩描述成为"办公室的新秘书"
or the "girl who sells you shirts and ties."
或者"卖给你衬衫和领带的导购员"
In other words, a wholesome woman you could meet in real life,
换句话说 就是你生活中能够遇见那些漂亮女孩
not a distant, professional model.
而不是那些遥不可及的专业模特
The photo layouts were a seduction,
照片的排布也很是讲究
with the Playmate slowly revealing more and more until being fully nude in the centerfold.
玩伴女孩穿得越来越清凉 一直诱惑到中插页 才全裸呈现
By the end of the 1950s,
到20世纪50年代末
the magazine was selling a million copies a month.
这个杂志每月能够销售上百万册
And while it was a popular joke to claim
虽然这个只是一个流行的笑话
that one only bought Playboy for the articles,
说有人购买《花花公子》只是为了阅读其上面的文章
the magazine did establish a reputation for literary excellence,
但该杂志的确在文学性上有着好名声
publishing in-depth interviews with all sorts of cultural icons
发表了一些有深度的访谈文章关于那时的文化现象
and excerpts from esteemed writers like James Baldwin.
也有节选一些詹姆斯·鲍德温(著名美国黑人作家)的作品
Even when its first true competitor, Penthouse, launched,
尽管当其第一个真正的竞争对手《阁楼》推出时
Playboy stayed on top,
《花花公子》任然遥遥领先
with print sales peaking at 7.1 million copies of the November 1972 issue.
其1972年11月号销售量达到710万册 达到其顶峰销售量
Playboy made $12 million in profit that year.
那年花花公子的利润达1200万美元
That's $73 million today.
按今天折算的话 有7300万美元之多
Playboy grew to be more than a magazine; it was a lifestyle.
不仅仅是一份杂志 《花花公子》逐渐成为一种生活方式
Hefner expanded Playboy Enterprises to include the Playboy Clubs,
海夫纳扩张了花花公子公司的业务 包括花花公子俱乐部
designed to embody the glamorous and luxurious lifestyle marketed by the magazine.
该俱乐部旨在呈现杂志中推广的那些纸醉金迷的生活方式
50,000 members joined the original Playboy Club in Chicago in its first year.
在芝加哥花花公子俱乐部成立的第一年就有5万名会员加入
Soon, there would be 23 Playboy Clubs around the world.
很快全球有了23家花花公子俱乐部
Bobbie Walters: It was an incredible place to be.
这是个令人难以置信的地方
It was magical.
太不可思议了
Kim: That's Bobbie Walters.
这是博比·沃尔斯特
She worked as a Bunny at the Playboy Club in New York City and, later, Miami.
她现在纽约的花花公子俱乐部做兔女郎 后来去了迈阿密的俱乐部
Walters: In New York City, there were 100 girls there.
在纽约 有100多个女孩
There were six different floors.
俱乐部一共有六层
So you could enjoy a show, you could enjoy a gourmet dinner,
你可以欣赏演出 享受美食
or you could dance to disco music,
或者跳跳迪斯科
or you could just go down into the Playmate bar and have a drink.
也可以直接去玩伴女孩酒吧喝点酒
Kim: As for what it was like to work as a Bunny...
至于做兔女郎的感觉
Walters: The training was one week long.
培训要一个星期
Once we got to the Playboy Club and got on the floor,
一旦我们到花花公子俱乐部这个楼层
we learned how to do the Bunny Dip.
我们必须学会如何做兔子斟酒
Tape: OK, once again, let's see the Bunny Dip down just so.
好的 再来一次 大家好好看看如何做兔子斟酒
Walters: Which is an extremely ridiculous thing because
那是个非常搞笑的事情
you're standing on 6-inch heels, leaning backwards, serving liquor.
因为我们穿着6英寸的高跟鞋 身体要后倾进行倒酒
Kim: Bunnies had to follow strict rules dictated in their Bunny Manuals.
兔女郎们必须准守这些严格的规章制度
Walters: It told you all about the rules and regulations,
一本兔子守则会告诉你所有规矩和制度
how the costume was supposed to look.
包括服装是什么样子的
Kim: Bunnies also had a pecific greeting for guests.
兔女郎跟客人打招呼也是有规定的
Walters: So, you would walk up to the table slowly,
你要慢慢走到桌子帮忙
and they would just be looking,
客人显然会盯着你
"Oh, my God, there's my Bunny,"
说"哦卖糕 我的小兔子来了"
and then you'd just approach a table and say,
然后你走进桌边说
"Good evening, I'm your Bunny, Bobbie."
"晚上好 我是你的小兔兔波比"
Kim: And the Bunnies were what really drew people to the Clubs.
兔女郎是吸引客人来俱乐部的真正原因
Walters: You could get a scotch and soda anywhere,
你能在任何地方买到威士忌和苏打水
but you couldn't get a glimpse of a Playboy Bunny.
但其他地方看不到妖艳的兔女郎
Kim: But the 750,000 Playboy Club members
但75万俱乐部会员以及每年6000万册杂志销售量也不是能够永远持续的
and 60 million magazines sold yearly wouldn't last forever.
Despite their early success, all the Playboy Clubs were closed down by 1986.
尽管早期很成功 但到1986年所有的花花公子俱乐部倒闭了
They had been losing money for years.
他们已经亏损很多年了
The changing social and political climate shifted public perception of the clubs.
不断变化的社会和政治氛围改变了公众对俱乐部的看法
Rather than being daring, they were now seen as degrading to women.
他们认为这不再是女性勇敢表现自己 而是在侮辱女性
And the rise of 1980s video porn was giving the print magazine competition.
加上80年代色情视频的兴起 使得平面杂志受到巨大挑战
As magazines like Stuff and Maxim entered the market,
在整个90年代 当其他男性杂志 如《Stuff》《Maxim》进入这个市场时
circulation continued to decline through the '90s.
市场就开始持续萎缩了
Playboy also made the fatal mistake of not moving online fast enough.
花花公子还犯了个致命的错误 没有快速进入互联网
As the internet boomed, online searches for Playboy
那是互联网蓬勃发展 当用搜索引擎搜花花公子时
would literally return ads for their competitors.
返回的结果都是其竞争对手(因为他们投了广告)
Playboy tried to offset its losses by licensing out its trademarked logo.
花花公子试图通过商业授权其兔子标志来弥补亏空
Billions of dollars' worth of merchandise with the bunny logo were sold.
数十亿打着其兔子标志的商品被出售
Playboy merchandise did particularly well in Asia, especially China,
花花公子品牌的商品在亚洲卖得很好 尤其在中国
despite laws prohibiting the magazine from being sold there.
尽管法律规定其杂志不能在那里出售
But it wasn't enough.
但显然这个是没有太多帮助
The high sales numbers only returned small licensing revenue for Playboy.
虽然商品销售量很大 但回馈到花花公子这边只有微薄的授权费
Hefner tried to revive his empire with a venture into reality TV.
海夫纳试图通过进军电视真人秀节目来重振他的帝国
In 2005, he signed up for an E! reality show
在2005年 他签下了真人秀节目工作室E!
that followed his life with his then three girlfriends:
节目内容主要是他和他的三个女朋友的生活
Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson.
他们分别是Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt和Kendra Wilkinson
"The Girls Next Door" aired in over 150 countries worldwide
节目《邻家兔女郎》在超过150个国家播放
and ran for six seasons.
且前后一共做了六季
It made Hef and Playboy a visible part of early 2000s pop culture.
这使得海夫纳和他的《花花公子》成为00年代初期的流行文化的一部分
Despite its decline, Playboy helped launch successful careers
虽然花花公子在不断的下滑 但它也帮助了一些人获得事业上的成功
for the likes of Pamela Anderson and Anna Nicole Smith,
像帕米拉·安德森和安娜·妮科尔·史密斯都是靠封面女郎出道
while stars like Naomi Campbell and Madonna graced its cover.
还有一些明星如娜奥米·坎贝尔和麦当娜也都登陆过其封面
President Donald Trump is particularly proud of his Playboy feature.
川普总统也曾以登上其封面为傲
But by the time the company finally placed its full archives online, it was too late.
但当这个公司终于想进攻线上时 好像已经迟了
When Hefner passed away in 2017, Playboy seemed directionless,
当海夫纳在2017年去世后 花花公子公司似乎失去了其方向
and investors had been losing money for decades.
而且投资人这几十年来一直在亏钱(其为伦敦上市公司)
With circulation at an all-time low and reported losses of $7 million a year,
其发行量创了历史最低 年度报告也称上年度亏损700万美元
the magazine was scaled back to release only quarterly.
杂志也缩减成季刊了
But it isn't over for Playboy just yet.
但花花公子的故事还没结束
In September 2018, the Playboy Club in New York City reopened,
在2018年9月纽约花花公子俱乐部重新开业
complete with waitresses dressed as bunnies,
当然包括兔女郎装扮的服务员
and the magazine is rebranding to appeal to a younger generation.
杂志也在改版去迎合年轻一代
The 2019 summer issue featured not models or actresses, but instead, three activists.
2019年夏季刊主打的不是模特或女星 而是三个社会活动女士
Women also now play a significant role behind the camera.
在镜头前的女性也开始扮演者社会重要的角色
It's a clear contrast to Playboy's origins, when women had very little autonomy.
这与杂志创立初期女性几乎没有社会权力形成强烈对比
Whether Playboy's efforts to be more empowering
花花公子的各种努力
can save the magazine remains to be seen.
能否完成自我拯救还有待观察
A lot has changed since Hugh Hefner started Playboy,
与海纳夫创立花花公子的那个年代相比
and it's unclear whether it'll survive.
社会已经发生了很多变化 公司还不清楚其能否继续生存下去
But there's always the logo, and that's a billion-dollar legacy.
但就创造了这个标志来说 也是价值十多亿美元的资产