Bloomingdale's sorry for ad suggesting you spike friend's eggnog

[liberal N proud]

"Spike your best friend's egg nog when they're not looking," reads the troubling caption.

Though the "best friend" could be the woman in the ad or another person not pictured, either way, insinuating that over-serving someone as a way to get the girl, is totally inappropriate.

"In reflection of recent feedback, the copy we used in our recent catalog was inappropriate and in poor taste. Bloomingdales' sincerely apologizes for this error in judgment," a brand representative told Tech Insider.

But that hasn't stopped people from calling out Bloomingdale's on Twitter.



http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/bloomingdales-sorry-for-ad-suggesting-you-spike-friends-eggnog/ar-CCdyyu?li=AAa0dzB

[Sherman A1]

1. One has to wonder

just who thought this ad was a good idea? In what goofball world do they not understand it is not only offensive on several levels, but just plain stupid from a business perspective.

[Brickbat]

4. Men in advertising.

[chelsea0011]

39. Everyone involved thought it was a good idea. They wanted the publicity and

didn't care about the message. I am sure they weighed whether or not it made good business sense and said go with it.

[bettyellen]

2. Wow that's creepy.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. That Guy Needs To Spike Anybody's Anything?

A guy that good looking doesn't need to be a felon to get a date! They're both gorgeous!

[Brickbat]

5. Which of course has nothing to do with why rapists rape.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Whoosh!

The store admitted it was in poor taste. They weren't promoting rape. But, you knew that, didn't you?

[Brickbat]

10. So if it was in poor taste but they weren't promoting rape, what were they promoting?

What was in poor taste?

[ProfessorGAC]

12. You Stick With That

Your misplaced outrage is duly noted. So serious. Must be tiring.

[Brickbat]

13. Not quite sure why you're so contemptuous.

But I'm pretty sure I know why you're not answering my questions.

[LanternWaste]

16. No more than your trivialization of greater concerns is also noted...

"Your misplaced outrage is duly noted..."

No more and no less than your trivialization and minimization of greater concerns is also duly noted. So buffoonish. Must be simplistic.

(six of one, half a dozen of the other... insert distinction without a relevant difference below to maintain pretense)

[JI7]

27. speaking of misplaced outrage

[Arugula Latte]

84. Thank you for your Mansplain.

We wimminfolk can't think for ourselves with our silly little ladybrainz!

[yardwork]

88. Actually, the ad totally promotes rape.

And goodlooking people can be rapists. Rape has nothing to do with not being able to get a date.

[prayin4rain]

6. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Luster

[bettyellen]

46. According to you, some guys "need to be a felon" via date rape? Seriously?

Whoosh.

[gollygee]

56. Raping isn't "getting a date"

People rape because they specifically want to rape - they want to force themselves on someone. They don't want a date.

Pretty people rape too.

[RedCappedBandit]

69. "Whoosh"

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. Lapse in judgement

[lpbk2713]

9. Holy chit.

WTF were they thinking? OMFG


Anyone would know better than that.

[Dont call me Shirley]

11. Why would the ceos of bloomies let this fly? This is advocating drugging and raping. This is sick!

[tazkcmo]

77. Why?

Because the mega wealthy, in general, are entitled to use people in any manner they choose. People have no real value. It's all about the Almighty Dollar.

[Dont call me Shirley]

93. And promoting rape in the Divide and Conquer Game is a necessity.

[Lil Missy]

14. As a recovering alcoholic, I'd be REALLY, REALLY pissed if someone did that to me. n/t

[Dorian Gray]

64. that was the first thing that jumped out at me, too...

Sure, because it's a male/female cover, I see the date rape thing, too. But even if their argument was against that, they're advocating spiking eggnog. Ugh. Essentially giving someone a substance without their permission. Even take away the "rape" aspect, that's still pretty shitty.

[Bottoms_Up]

15. I think the reaction may be some slight PC overcorrectness...

I don't think they were talking about "raping" anybody. I mean, why would you rape your best friend... that's not very best-friend-like at all. It's ad didn't say, "Spike some sexy stranger's eggnog". At least I didn't get a rapey vibe from it.

Sounds like proposing some good old fashioned pranking between friends to me. There was a time when this sort of thing was still received as a joke and had nothing to do with raping anybody. Hell, there's been a few times when I was out with friends and we got a couple of people in our group shitfaced just for fun. Slip 'em the old pot brownie or something like that. LOL. Even happened to me a few times. It was funny then and I think it would be funny now.

I think sometimes the PC crowd needs to lighten up.

[GReedDiamond]

17. Really?

"Hell, there's been a few times when I was out with friends and we got a couple of people in our group shitfaced just for fun. Slip 'em the old pot brownie or something like that. LOL. Even happened to me a few times. It was funny then and I think it would be funny now."

Wrong, it was not funny then, it's not funny now.

It's disgusting and wrong, bordering on criminal behavior.

And I enjoy a variety of intoxicants as much as anybody, just not involuntarily.

[etherealtruth]

37. The only area I disagree with you is this: bordering on criminal behavior

I think it completely crosses the line into criminal behavior.

[GReedDiamond]

41. You are correct - I was trying to leave a little room...

...for the benefit of the doubt.

But, yeah, dosing people with drugs of any kind, without their knowledge, whether it be a "friend" or a stranger, is a form of assault.

[etherealtruth]

44. I didn't mean for it to "sound" like I was directing vitriol toward you ....

I clearly understood you were appalled by this!

[GReedDiamond]

45. No worries, I did not take your comment as vitriolic...

...I am simply stunned by the other poster's attitude on this subject.

I wonder how "Bottoms Up" (interesting choice for a screen name) would feel if one of their "friends" had a negative reaction to being drugged, resulting in a medical emergency, or worse?

Beyond the expected effects, there may also be other concerns, such as allergic reactions, which may cause severe problems for the dosed "friend."

If this guy was my "friend," and he drugged me for a laugh, I'd consider beating the shit out of him - but in reality, I'd end the "friendship" and never have anything to do with him from that point on.

I don't care much for stupid, reckless assholes, or those who associate with them.

[arcane1]

19. That's what's called "Being an enormous asshole" whether there is rape or not.

Though it's much more likely that you made it all up.

[GReedDiamond]

31. I'm glad I have never known anyone like you...

...your attitude on this subject is reprehensible and beyond juvenile.

[etherealtruth]

38. Most of us here are NOT sociopaths .... so, no

... you are not going to get much support for your idea of "fun".

[DVRacer]

55. And how about someone like me?

No really you have no idea what prescription medications I'm or what the side effects of even a little alcohol or other drug would do to me. I'm on a Fentanol pain patch and other powerful drugs rehabilitating my nerve damage the wrong thing could kill me would that be funny? Yeah I'm being serious because I don't share with everyone I have the medication I have.

[tblue37]

70. And don't forget the possibility that a woman in her early months of pregnancy

won't necessarily show--or even know about--her pregnancy. The early months are when alcohol is most likely to harm a fetus.

[Tree-Hugger]

78. Or

Someone who just got hired for their dream job and needs to have a perfectly clean drug test.

[Dorian Gray]

66. That behavior

is psychotic.

[wheniwasincongress]

67. You sound like a sociopath.

Giving someone diarrhea and stomach cramps and possibly more severely irritating their stomach is funny? It's funny to get someone drunk when they are likely to be taking medications that could interact wrongly with alcohol, when the person may need to drive or need to be a sober state later in the day?

[gollygee]

57. I wonder if it's criminal too

Poeple have been arrested for giving peope marijuana without their knowledge. I've never heard of that with alcohol, but it's certainly just simply not OK. There could be a ton of reasons why someone might be abstaining. Pregnancy, medicine that can't be mixed with alcohol, etc.

[yardwork]

90. Yes, it is criminal. It's assault.

[gollygee]

92. It seems like when I read about people giving someone mj w/out their knowledge

they were arrested for poisoning.

[lpbk2713]

21. I strongly disagree.

Your situation is your own. But some other people don't know where to draw the line. Others don't know enough not to exploit a vulnerable situation when it presents itself. A friend would not do that IMO. And Bloomie's is wrong in even suggesting it.

[Cal Carpenter]

22. Perhaps you aren't aware but most rapists know their victims

This isn't about 'PC', and calling it that doesn't count as making a point. In fact, it makes you look like you have no coherent argument to defend what you are saying. Throw in an anecdote and an accusation of 'PC' and call it a day?

Fail.

If it was so innocent, why did they pull the ad?

[Bottoms_Up]

23. I'm aware most rapes involve well known aquaintences.

But actual best friends? That's a stretch.

[Cal Carpenter]

24. Okay, so you think it is okay to spike your best friend's drink without their consent

You must be a real blast at parties.

I guess you didn't mean this part of your post then? "Spike some sexy stranger's eggnog".

Because that would imply that you think most rapists are strangers.

Anyway...

[Bottoms_Up]

30. That version would have been super-rapey...

at least to me. Messing with a stranger's, or "average" buddy's drink, is super inapprops.

The best part about having tight knit best friends is that shit can get crazy for some good times. And at the end of the day it's all well and good because a lot of the social boundries just don't exist.

It's like growing up and giving siblings a wedgie... you'd never do that to almost anyone else. It just gets weird.

[Cal Carpenter]

34. If you say so

Or, as these kids today say, "Cool story, bro".

[Mendocino]

43. 30 minutes

or less.

[bettyellen]

47. so....mildly rapey and abusive is just fine?

[arcane1]

29. I think their whole story is made up as an excuse to bash the "PC crowd"

Either way, true or false, it's dickish.

[Cal Carpenter]

33. Yeah, I'm not sure why I'm trying to coax a coherent argument outta this one

Just procrastinating on my work, I guess

[Skittles]

52. I am convinced

the only people who excuse that kind of shit are the people who would actually do it

[Brickbat]

28. That's awesome.

I'm wondering if you could explain to me what the joke is when you get someone drunk just for fun. Like outline the humor step by step. How do you do it? When do you let them in on the joke? What's the ideal outcome? It sounds hilarious, but I'd like to understand it better.

[Skittles]

54. yup, and I'm wondering about someone who is an alcoholic and on the wagon

what kind of fun would it be for them

[Skittles]

51. WTF

"rapey vibe", fun spiking someone via pot? What are you, 12 years old?

I think the conservative asshole troll crowd needs to fuck off

[Ilsa]

53. And the spiker would bear no responsibility if

the spikee was so shitfaced that they stepped in front of a bus?

Drugging someone in this manner is criminal and very risky.

[Dorian Gray]

65. Ugh

I'd be pissed (and NOT friends) with someone who got me high without my knowledge and/or permission.

[Tipperary]

80. I would be pissed off as hell if a friend

did that to me. Good way to lose the trust of your friends there buddy.

[yardwork]

89. It's rare that I read a post on DU that appalls me. Yours did.

[arcane1]

18. And with that creepy look on his face too.

Makes you wonder about the mentality of the industry sometimes, considering how many people had to say OK to this.

[petronius]

20. That is extraordinarily creepy. How could any reviewer--at any stage

of the process--look at that and not see the problem?

Seems like a lot of reshuffling and rethinking needs to be done at both Bloomingdale's and the ad company...

[joeybee12]

25. That's very creepy...

How did this ever get approved?

[Solly Mack]

32. Well, that's icky.

And sick.

[bettyellen]

48. funny, I was wondering if there is some sort of subliminal thing about

drunk women being attractive- at least to the people at Bloomies, and JCrew.
That said, this Tumbler has me peeing.

http://drunkjcrew.tumblr.com/page/10

[Solly Mack]

50. You're just a wee bit wicked. :)

I like that in a person.

Oh, I don't think it's subliminal.

[bettyellen]

63. The weak prey theory? That was a secret of my popularity when in my twenties.....

just one of the secrets, but I suspect a pretty major one, with dudes. I like you too, Solly!

[valerief]

35. One way to get people to talk about an ad is to make it controversial. nt

[Grammy23]

36. A little more thought on this....

What if this "good friend" happens to be taking medication where consuming alcohol is highly discouraged on the medication bottle? You may or may not be privy to that information.

What if the friend has a history of alcohol abuse or addiction that you might know about? Or maybe NOT?

You risk causing a serious medical problem or a relapse of hard earned sobriety. It's not all about rape as there are many reasons to think this is a boneheaded idea. How the folks that okayed this ad never thought of all these implications is beyond me since they are PAID to think about these things!

What kind of person puts alcohol into another person's drink without their knowledge? A very immature, thoughtless person, that's who. By no stretch of the imagination should he or she be called a friend.

[mike dub]

40. Wow

It's like they were trying for the Biggest Advertising Fail of the Century award. Just wow.

[Mendocino]

42. Awful

The MRA types will say "what's the problem?"

And then we say "you are".

[Nye Bevan]

49. Not just the rapey thing... what if the person is taking a medication that would react with alcohol?

What if the person is planning to drive?

This is so wrong on multiple levels that I share the general amazement that this could pass a major company's review process.

[-none]

58. Am I the only one seeing the woman laughing about it and then man's look of disapproval?

Why do so many assume it was the man that did or suggested spiking the eggnog?

[gollygee]

59. Is that how you see it?

It looks to me very much like she's looking away, not paying attention, and he's watching her.

[-none]

60. That is what I see.

She is laughing. The man is not.

[gollygee]

61. That doesn't mean she spiked his drink

she seems to have her attention on someone else, so she's in a conversation with someone.

[-none]

62. Yeah, telling them about the spiked drink, she thinks is so funny.

It's not very funny no matter who may have done it.

[Brickbat]

71. Because men are usually the ones to do such a thing.

[-none]

73. Then why is the woman laughing while the man looks at her disapprovingly?

[Brickbat]

74. It's interesting, I don't see disapproval.

If anything, it's contempt.

[-none]

75. OK contempt.

But whatever, he's not going along with the idea.

[Brickbat]

76. I see it differently.

Men generally don't respect the women whose drinks they spike. To me, he's just biding his time.

[petronius]

81. My immediate reaction to it is that he's half-concealed, looking intently

at her, and she's distracted (i.e. "not looking&quot . His expression seems creepy, leering, predatory to me - it's not a 'party' look. From the position of the people and the position of the text, it seems that interpreting it as him being the spiker watching it take effect is the most likely/obvious interpretation.

Of course, there's no drink pictured, and it's not impossible that they meant to imply that she spiked the drink of the drunker-looking guy on the fold to the left (where she's looking). In which case humorless-man may be disapproving - but how often does an ad include a character directly rejecting the main text of the ad?

Bottom line, of course, the spiking suggestion is reprehensible no matter how they meant it, and it was utterly incompetent if they overlooked the rape-y aspect (and worst of all if they saw and went with it anyway)...

[yardwork]

91. It doesn't make any difference who did the spiking. It's wrong.

[restorefreedom]

68. publicity stunt

i refuse to believe no one at blooms knew how this would be taken.

[JPZenger]

72. New Ad Agency Standard: Show the Ad to at least one woman before you go to print

The advertising agencies need to enact a new standard. They should not go to print until they show their ad to at least one woman, and get her reaction.

[Rex]

79. Welcome to Cosbyland...good luck uncreeping your image now.

How pathetic. What will you do TO her after you spike her drink? Is it still funny and cute?

[smirkymonkey]

82. Ugh!

[Orrex]

83. When I first saw the ad, I initially thought...

that one of the guys was going to adulterate the beverage of his "friend"/competitor, thereby eliminating the competition for the woman (i.e., the prize), who would presumably be so impressed by this felony that she would helpless to resist his poisonous advances.


Completely fucked up on every possible level.

[Arugula Latte]

85. He's got a predatory, rapey look to him, not a friendly "I'm gonna pull a prank!" look.

This is indeed creepy and promoting rape culture.

[Orrex]

86. I saw a blurb on FB about this ad yesterday...

It pointed out that the guy on the right looks conspicuously like Robin Thicke, responsible for last year's rape anthem Blurred Lines.

[Arugula Latte]

87. Yech.

He does.

You have to wonder if that was intentional. I wouldn't be surprised.