Playboy (PLA) tends to be associated with the magazine and sex. Not the hardcore, nasty kind, of course -- Playboy has always been more than a tad distinguished, staying above board while the adult entertainment industry has chosen to compete in ways that my editor would delete if I even attempted.

With Iconix said to be interested in acquiring Playboy, it needs to think about where it can win with the ailing brand. The smart move may be to ditch the magazine and move away from sex -- it can't compete in either of these markets. Then, it needs to figure out how to make the brand relevant to everyone not in the Boomer generation ... or treat Playboy as an investment with a clock on it.

Continue reading Iconix could make Playboy work: Kill the mag, take the sex out of the brand

Iconix could make Playboy work: Kill the mag, take the sex out of the brand originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Finally, the federal government has accepted an offer from Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis. Earlier this year, the feds turned down his request for bailout money, but the filmmaker entrepreneur executive soft-core porn guru had better luck with the judiciary branch. His deal to get out of jail came through.

U.S. District Judge S. James Otero accepted a plea agreement that Francis reached with prosecutors. It will put him on probation for the next year for filing false income tax returns. He was also sentenced to time served -- 301 days, but that's all in the past. He also has to pay restitution of $250,000.

Continue reading Francis gone free: Time served, probation and restitution for soft porn mogul

Francis gone free: Time served, probation and restitution for soft porn mogul originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.