Playboy Magazine, with its iconic bunny ears recognized around the globe, turns 60 this year. The magazine celebrated with a special edition featuring supermodel Kate Moss on the cover in a black bunny suit.
But the magazine may have to do more if it wants to be around for the next 60 years.
Playboy is losing money, with ad revenue down more than 13 percent in the first quarter of 2013, the New York Daily News reported. Circulation has also declined, from 7 million at its height, to 1.25 million.
Critics say the 60th anniversary cover does nothing for Moss or the magazine.
"That's always been the duplicity of Playboy...pitching a retrograde concept of sexuality while pretending to be sophisticated," Mike Edison, author of "Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!," told the Daily News.
But Playboy editorial director Jimmy Jellinek thinks Playboy continues to be a relevant, lifestyle magazine.
"Playboy has always been a lightning rod for how you feel about sexuality," Jellinek told the Daily News.
Playboy has continuously contributed to American culture since its creation in 1953, including nude photos of Marilyn Monroe, and its three-issue cover of Ray Bradbury's novel "Fahrenheit 451," the Daily News reported.
The problem, some say, is the magazine's theme is outdated.
"The magazine is almost superfluous," Jennifer Baumgardner, who wrote for Playboy, told the Daily News. "Playboy is 60, and it feels 60."
For others, Playboy is not an unworthy magazine. It just needs a complete overhaul.
"If the company is successful in cleaning up its sleazy image and builds its licensing revenue streams high enough to compensate for a failing print media business, then the company might have a future," Charles Sizemore, contributor to Forbes, wrote earlier this year. "Whether that future is enough to sustain the lifestyle created by Mr. Hefner is another story."
