Playboy magazine brings back naked models one year after nudity ban

Playboy magazine is bringing naked models back to its pages just over a year after promising to ban nudity for good.

The iconic lifestyle magazine announced the end of naked models in 2015 in a bid to broaden its readership and attract more advertisers.

But the publication revealed its March 2017 issue on Monday, featuring topless model Elizabeth Elam and the headline “Naked is normal”.

It comes four months after Cooper Hefner, the son of founder Hugh Hefner, took over as Playboy’s chief creative officer.

He was reportedly opposed to the nudity ban, which was celebrated by women’s right activists.

Mr Hefner wrote on Twitter on Monday: “I’ll be the first to admit the way in which the magazine portrayed nudity was dated, but removing it entirely was a mistake.

“Nudity was never the problem, because nudity isn’t a problem. Today, we’re taking our identity back and rediscovering who we are.”

The magazine’s Playboy philosophy column, last printed in 1960, is also making a return.

Playboy’s circulation was reportedly around 700,000 per issue last year, a far cry from its record 7.2 million in November 1972.