Playboy wants Wal-Mart women
No. 1 retailer surprised by magazine's Web site's 'search for sexiest women.'
September 15, 2003: 11:43 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - If you're a female cashier or a corporate officer at Wal-Mart, age 18 and over, and you're not afraid to shed your inhibitions in front of the camera, Playboy wants you.
Playboy.com announced Monday it is searching for the sexiest women at Wal-Mart Stores (WMT: Research, Estimates), the world's biggest retailer.
"Wal-Mart employees have a reputation for being cheerful and now Playboy.com is giving them a chance to smile for the camera," Playboy said in a press release. "Playboy.com wants Wal-Mart's sexiest assets to roll back their clothes and pose nude."
Playboy ran a similar-themed 'Women of Enron' last year and 'Women of Starbucks' photospreads in the magazine earlier this year. The Wal-Mart theme is the first for Playboy.com.
The offer took Wal-Mart by surprise.
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"I'm not aware that Playboy put out something like this (referring to the press release)," said Tom Williams, spokesman for Wal-Mart. "But this is not a ballpark that Wal-Mart wants to play in."
He declined to say whether Wal-Mart would take any action against an employee who decided to take up Playboy's offer.
Recently Wal-Mart, in an effort to spread its wholesome image as a family store, said it would put covers on a few women's magazines that typically display racy pictures and story titles.
Bentonville, Ark.- based Wal-Mart also banned three men's magazines, including FHM, Maxim, and Stuff, earlier this year because it said it had received complaints from customers about their content.
In the past, Wal-Mart has refused to sell CDs that carry warning labels about explicit lyrics. Instead, the store sells sanitized versions of albums, with some songs omitted or covers redrawn to pass muster with the chain's buyers.
