Playboy logo use inappropriate

Latent endorsement. Implicit advertising. Subtle sponsorship. Whatever you call it, it's not good, and it doesn't belong on the front page of the IDS. \nA reader complained about the presence of the Playboy bunny logo that appeared next to a front-page story in Thursday's edition of the IDS. This particular story -- \n"Knight blasts University officials" -- discussed former basketball coach Bob Knight's recent interview with Playboy, which appeared in that publication's March issue.\nA large file photo of Knight and the Playboy bunny logo accompanied the IDS article. The logo was inserted between the story's two columns of text. Recognizable to millions of people, regardless of whether they read the magazine it represents (all of those "just for the articles" jokes aside, of course), this particular logo cries out to be noticed.\nThat's a good quality for front-page news, right? Not always. Coupled with the IDS article, which includes several excerpts from Knight's interview with Playboy, the logo comes across as an understated endorsement or promotion of the magazine. It seems to imply some sort of connection with Playboy, other than the fact that our former basketball coach was interviewed extensively for an article in that publication. \n"The graphic symbol of Playboy magazine, which is not a subject of this article, is an advertising tool," the aforementioned reader said. "It should not accompany a story -- especially not on the front page of the newspaper. The same goes for any symbol or logo associated with any other publication that Knight could have given the interview to. And that argument does not even account for the feelings that symbol arouses in some people. If it were a story in any way about Playboy magazine, this graphic would have a valid place, even on the front page. That's not the case." \nWell said, but the logo is also a waste of space. Sure, it's eye-catching, but wouldn't you rather see a scathing and incendiary Knight quote -- preferably something with a lot of curse words -- printed in bold in that space? The story itself was full of juicy remarks from the former coach on a number of topics. How about a nice mug shot of IU President Myles Brand? Then it would have looked like Knight, pictured in the file photo, was screaming and scowling at the image of the man who fired him this fall. Now that would be good newspaper design!\nLet's be clear on one point: This is not about Playboy, its content or even its image. The issue at hand is Playboy's status as a product and, subsequently, a marketer and advertiser. Freely printing a well-known, commercialized logo or symbol is acceptable under some circumstances; it happens with great frequency on the business and industry pages of major newspapers. But that's also within the context of business reporting, in which the companies or products themselves are the focus of the reporting.\nThe same cannot be said for the IDS -- in this particular instance, at least. Knight himself is the news "peg" or "angle." Playboy is a secondary element. The content of the former coach's interview is more important than the medium in which it is published. This would hold true for any other publication. Or would it?\n"Would the IDS have printed the very well-known symbol of another magazine?" the reader asked. "If Knight had spoken to Southern Partisan magazine, would the IDS have printed a confederate flag instead of the Playboy bunny? If Knight had spoken to '60 Minutes,' would its signature clock be pictured? Somehow, I doubt it."\nTo be sure, any excuse to put the Playboy logo on the front page of a newspaper would indeed be tempting. After all, the logos of Newsweek and Time just aren't sexy enough. But doing so runs the risk of mixing advertising content with news content, which is -- in the parlance of our president and vice president -- a "major league, big-time" no-no. \nThe IDS succumbed to this temptation. Hugh Hefner would be proud, so chalk one up for him and his bunnies. They managed to get some free advertising for their latest issue. \nLet's hope the IDS can keep ads out of its news from now on.