November 12, 2015
Bloomingdale's has issued an apology after an advertisement in its holiday catalogue sparked outrage on social media.
The advertisement features a woman laughing as a man looks over at her. Between them is the following statement: "Spike your best friend’s eggnog when they’re not looking."
"In reflection of your feedback, the copy we used in our recent catalog was inappropriate and in poor taste," the company said in a statement on Facebook. "Bloomingdale's sincerely apologizes for this error in judgement."
The advertisement caused a lot of backlash from consumers on social media, with many arguing the ad promotes date rape.
How did this go from concept, approval, to production, & no one along the way says 'hum, bad idea!" #Bloomingdales pic.twitter.com/QIFfQM2ZPU
— talk2Melodie ツ (@talk2melodie) November 12, 2015
Bloomingdales ad normalises date rape, makes taking advantage of women 'mainstream' and 'aspirational'. No such thing as rape jokes. Ever.
— Jack Monroe (@DrJackMonroe) November 11, 2015
@Bloomingdales thought date rape was funny and cool for their holiday advertising. Apparently they fired all the adults. #Bloomingdales
— Erik Bruder (@Erik_Bruder) November 12, 2015
Shocking! I think you just said it is ok to rape your friends!! Wow I hope to see public shaming of every1 involved in this #Bloomingdales
— Geeta (@G3M01) November 12, 2015
Hey @Bloomingdales It's over, i'm sorry, it's not me, it's you and your #rape ad #Bloomingdales #NotBuyingIt pic.twitter.com/GObxajQbOI
— Jennifer Storm (@JenniferRStorm) November 12, 2015
Despite the apology, many are not satisfied. Some want to know more – particularly, who approved the ad in the first place.
@Bloomingdales Just saw your #Apology #Tweet Happy you've made a public apology. Now please investigate how it got this far! #Bloomingdales
— No1 Tennis Mum (@No1TennisMum) November 12, 2015
ok but WHO thought publishing a rape joke was appropriate in the first place? https://t.co/FUZDRvKyqs
— Alexis Isabel (@lexi4prez) November 12, 2015
Yo @Bloomingdales - shove your weak 'sorry', how about a donation to a rape charity? You know, to help those women you had mad LOLs about.
— Emma Griffiths (@AmdrammerEmma) November 12, 2015
