Playboy invites Argentines to sing like a rock star

However, there's no escaping the fact sex is a big part of the rock 'n roll scene, as personified by the 'groupie' culture that has existed since the 1960s. Groupies have even inspired the music scene that created them, like in 'She Came In Though The Bathroom Window' by the Beatles and 'Dirty Diana' by Michael Jackson.

Given that groupies are often celebrities in their own right, it was a major publicity coup for the August edition of Playboy magazine to be dedicated to the 'queen' of Argentinean groupies. Mariana Diarco, the model and star famed for an affair she once had with a famous Argentinean rock musician, was the star of the August issue - so Playboy needed an innovative way to promote a magazine dedicated to the country's most famous groupie.

Making their own groupie

Playboy created a website www.Playboybonustrack.com.ar where visitors could pretend they were a rock star, with Mariana as their own groupie.

Once at the site, visitors activated the microphone on their computer and proceeded to sing out loud for Mariana. A graphic equaliser would show photos of Mariana from an exclusive photo session, shot for the site. The more effort they put into their singing, the more of the image was revealed. A number of different images were available behind the equaliser.

The Playboy bonus track could be shared through social media channels.

Playboy is no stranger to innovation. It was the first men's magazine to launch a Braille edition in 1970, and a recent Brazilian edition of Playboy carried an audio advertisement for a music festival.

Results

Within the first three weeks of launch, the site received 1900 visits.