Lacoste goes Playgirl... in Esquire?

I just discovered this Lacoste faux Playgirl pose in a 2003 issue of Esquire while working on a content analysis... and I'm still trying to figure it out.

These days good-looking male models are the norm in men's style magazines. And there is partial nudity; think Calvin Klein and Dolce & Gabanna. But this image has the feel of a 1970's Burt Reynolds layout in Playgirl magazine (see him here in a 1972 Cosmo layout).

The headline "Style on Skin" must be referring to the "high style" of Lacoste on one's skin. I'm not sure straight readers flipping through Esquire would be comfortable making eye contact with a nude male model enjoying a spot of tea. It may be likely that Gay Esquire readers would have a different opinion: It's commonly believed that men's mags like GQ and Esquire have a fairly high Gay readership.

It's no surprise to magazine readers that bare male physiques are on the rise. In a previously published content analysis, we found that 11% of men in a sample of magazine ads were dressed in a sexual manner. By 2003, that proprotion had increased to 21%. Nudity (Lacoste ad), while absent in 1983, represented about 3% in 2003.

Obviously in no rush, men are making the 30-year migration from '70s layouts in Playgirl and Cosmo to ad pages in men's magazines.