Playboy Videos are a series of videos released by Playboy Enterprises, Inc., the publishers of Playboy magazine. The output of new Playboy videos has greatly curtailed since 2002, new releases such as No Boys Allowed 3 contain recycled footage shot for earlier videos. However, the production of the video Playmate calendar, the Playmate of the Year video, and the anniversary video series still continues.
Recently, Playboy has begun to release collections of the video calendars under the title Playmate DVD Calendar Collection. Currently, two have been released: The '90s (which also includes the 1987–1989 video calendars as a “bonus”, and the 2000–2005 calendar collection. These collect the video calendars, but do not include the bonus features found in the later DVD calendars.
Each video begins with the voice of Neil Ross, the narrator for most of Playboy's productions, saying:
With (year) replaced by the year of the calendar.
The video profile of a playmate is shot at the same time that her magazine centerfold and pictorial are photographed. These usually consist of three or four vignettes reflecting the personality and persona of the playmate and an interview is also conducted at the same time to serve as in introduction to her viewers. Two of the vignettes are then chosen to be included as part of her video playmate profile. The very first playmate to appear in a playmate video calendar was Cherie Witter, Miss January 1987 (having been Miss February 1985 in the magazine).
In the early video Playmate calendars, a significant amount of time was given to each Playmate to introduce herself, two or three minutes were spent on describing her aspirations and goals. This was then followed by a nude profile.
Every year, a Playmate of the Year (PMOY) is chosen by Playboy magazine. At the same time as the PMOY photo shoot, a video is filmed to commemorate the occasion. The scenes in the video are filmed in the same style as the calendar profiles and include interviews not only with the Playmate herself but also sometimes her family and the photographers who shot the pictorials. In Karen McDougal's 1998 PMOY video centerfold, a segment was presented in the Pop-up Video format made popular by VH1 at the time.
Playboy launched its Sexy Lingerie series in 1988, featuring Playmates and other models in lingerie. In the earlier titles of the series, Playmates were shown in static poses which, although artistic, tended to make them appear distant. Sexy Lingerie II–VI continued where the first video left off. However, in later titles, the Playmates were allowed to be more fluid, such as showing them walking a cat walk or dancing.
The Wet and Wild series, launched in 1989, features Playmates in various liquid environments, such as pools, bathtubs, hot tubs, saunas, fountains, water beds, milk, champagne, beer, massage oil, glycerine, chocolate syrup, and ersatz crème de cacao. Playboy produced a total of ten videos in the Wet & Wild series.
Although the majority of sequences in the early videos of the series maintained a sense of depicting the female figure as a work of art, some sequences could be described as appealing to aquaphiliacs.
Wet and Wild IV showed an unusual development by Playboy. One scene depicts Tanya Beyer taking part in a simulated sex scene — a departure for Playboy at the time. All playboy videos up to this point only showed activities which were seemingly unrelated to sexual activity. But even here the scene was relatively tame in comparison to some scenes in mainstream Hollywood films such as Showgirls or Wild Things.
Volumes VI to IX were based loosely on several different themes including the women's locker room (Wet and Wild VI), hot holidays (Wet and Wild VII), women's buttocks (Wet and Wild VIII), and finally the season of summer (Wet & Wild: Slippery When Wet).
The final video in the series, Wet and Wild Live! Backstage Pass, was released in 2002.
Playboy has produced several Best of videos. These have collected segments either featuring a specific Playmate (e.g., The Best of Jenny McCarthy), from a Playboy TV show (e.g., The Best of Night Calls), or from a Playboy video series (e.g., The Best of Wet & Wild).
In a rare appearance in front of the camera, Pompeo Posar, who was a Playboy photographer for more than 36 years and took more than 75 centerfolds for the magazine, appeared in The Best of Jenny McCarthy.
A recurring feature in the magazine is "Girls of" (or sometimes "Women of"), where the women involved are chosen according to a theme (often all working for a particular organization). Playboy has also produced several videos following the same idea -- the most recent ones being done in conjunction with the magazine features.
'Girls of Hooters''