Playboy magazine photographer David Chan said he knew he was in for surprises when all three newspapers Logan refused to publish his advertisement seeking Utah State University coeds to pose for a pictorial.
What he didn't expect was two dozen applicants - 22 of them married with children - to show up at his hotel room after he resorted to distributing fliers around Logan."I have never had anything happen like that before and I've been to more than 80 schools for this series," entitled "Girls of the Big West," he said, one of a series the magazine has published featuring women in various college athletic conferences.
Chan said he dutifully snapped photos of the women, clad in shorts and bikinis, which be forwarded to Playboy headquarters in Chicago, where he said two or three will be selected to appear in the magazine's October issue.
Chan said he was disappointed when Cache Valley's three newspapers, the daily Logan Herald Journal, the weekly Cache Citizen, and the tri-weekly campus paper, the Utah Statesman, turned down the advertisements and worried that the LDS Church may have influenced their decision.
Doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints promotes modesty in dress.
Wendy Weaver, editor of the campus newspaper, said she turned down the ad because she believes soliciting women to pose nude or partially-clad is "demeaning and sexist."
"Magazines such as Playboy only add to society's misconception of the role of women as mere sex objects," Weaver said.
Wayne Paul, publisher of the Herald Journal, declined to say why he rejected the advertisement.
Nelson Wadsworth, editor of the Cache Citizen, said he felt the ad would offend his readers.
Chan said he believes women enjoy posing for the magazine.
"It's good for their egos and brings out their beauty and sensuality," he said.