my opinion is that the playboy brand, from the dude end, represents a lifestyle. The founder is rich, wears silk robes, lives in a mansion, surrounds himself with the highest quality ladies. He fulfills his fans fantasies of being a playboy themselves. Going to a playboy party is on the bucket list of a lot of dudes.
from the ladies end, since playboy is so picky, it represents a standard of female beauty that ladies aspire to be. Not many modeling jobs have the same level of class.
