Porn videos always on top

Cheerleaders, hard bodies, sexy starlets and a certain MTV game show hostess?

But these women aren't only found in the ageless minds of men and boys around the globe. They can also be found on Playboy magazine's February best-seller list of home videos.

Best-sellers like Playboy's 21 Playmates: Centerfold Collection, Vol. II; Playboy's Girls of South Beach and Playboy's Twins and Sisters Too, which made its debut this week at No. 22, are constants on Billboard magazine's weekly list of the nation's 40 best-selling videos. With D-cups, long legs, and 24-inch waists taunting the camera, sales and rentals of Playboy home videos transform the universal Playboy bunny logo into dollar signs galore.

The reason for the high volume of video sales is obvious, said Jim Nagle, director of public relations for Playboy Entertainment Group.

"There is just a lot of demand for our product out on the marketplace," he said.

The sales of Playboy videos simply reflect what Americans like to watch, said Mike Pilotti (junior-management science and information systems), adding that sales probably out-do rentals, thanks to those who don't want to go through the trouble of renting the videos.

"Some people like it better than they say," Pilotti said. "They probably buy it and not tell people they have it. I know one guy who buys it a lot -- too much if you ask me."

According to Billboard's weekly figures, there are more than a few Playboy junkies who have yet to come out of the closet. In fact, demand for these Playboy pin-ups is so high that for the second consecutive year the Playboy Entertainment Group posted more titles on Billboard's year-end top 100 chart than Disney. With competition like Playboy's Fast Women, which debuts March 18, Pocahontas will have her work cut out for her.

According to Nagle, most of the marketing for the videos is done through ads in Playboy magazine, home video trade magazines and advertisements to video retailers. Not surprisingly, Nagle said, the core of Playboy's video audience ranges from the ages of 18 to 34.

But to women like Shelley Hopkins, co-director of Womyn's Concerns, the popularity of Playboy videos translates into a direct degradation of women.

"Just because (pornography) is legal doesn't mean it's right," Hopkins said. "I think women should be free to choose whatever they want to do in life. I think it's sad that women will make more money dancing or posing nude than waitressing."

Despite protest from many women's right advocates, women buy the bunny, too. One of Playboy Entertainment's most consistent sellers is Playboy's Making Love Series, featuring sex therapist, sex surrogate and author Dr. Barbara Keesling. With titles such as 10 Secrets for Greater Sensual Pleasure, Vol. III, Nagle said women comprise much of the series' consumer market. Nagle also said a recent survey indicated that one-third of the Playboy Channel's viewers are women.

However, sales are not the only place the bunny leaves its mark. Local video retailers said Playboy video rentals hold their own in the State College area, largely due to a youthful consumer market.

At A-Z Video Superstores, North Atherton Place, store manager Mike McClintock said the store rents out about 10 to 20 Playboy videos per week.

Though the figures might seem high to those who stick to conservative ratings like NC-17, they pale in comparison to the amount of adult films that find their way off the shelves each week, McClintock said.

He also added that he sees some adult video renters come in at the same time every day for a different movie. It is hard to pinpoint an exact reason as to why Playboy videos sell better than they rent, he said.

"As far as people in general and not just in State College, it's hard to say," McClintock said. "It might be safe sex for them."

John Biddle, manager of Allen Street Video, 232 S. Allen St., offers a more candid explanation for the popularity of the videos in his store.

"(The videos) have naked women in them, and people will rent them," he said. "That's pretty basic."

Biddle also said most of his clientele are college-aged. But in State College, Blockbuster Video, 1101 N. Atherton St., and all three locations of Mike's Movies and Music do not carry Playboy's sought after best-sellers.

Rich Swope, video buyer for Mike's Movies and Music, said the chain tries to uphold a family image.

As for Blockbuster, senior assistant manager Rachel Reid said no store in the entire Blockbuster chain is allowed to carry any film with a rating of NC-17 or higher. Despite the fact that no Blockbuster store carries the much-sought-after videos, Reid said the requests still keep coming.