Bloomingdale’s apologizes for apparent date rape (Bill Cosby) joke in holiday catalog ad

[marylander1940]

Bloomingdale’s has apologized for an advertisement in its recent holiday catalog that appears to make light of date rape.

 

“Spike your best friend’s eggnog when they’re not looking,” reads the ad copy, which surfaced on Imgur this week. The text appears between a sharply dressed man looking at a woman, who is laughing and appears not to notice him.

 

The implications of the ad drew outrage from people online, prompting the department store chain to apologize.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/11/bloomingdales-apologizes-holiday-ad-date-rape-joke

 

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/11/15/2E5891D100000578-0-image-a-1_1447255352601.jpg

[whipped guy]

Well if I saw this it would have made no sense to me and I would have flipped the page. Still, it got someone's attention and is that not what an ad is ultimately supposed to do? Either way, I would bet that the ad even without the wording would have offended someone, somewhere and somehow. Such is the world that we live in...

[bigvalboy]

Who in the Hell are these people, that allows something like this get to print?

[marylander1940]

Maybe the advertisement will warn others about keeping their drink close to them. I don't get why straight guys do this kind of tricks in this world and age when a couple of dinners is enough to get sex with daddy's little girl...

 

Well if I saw this it would have made no sense to me and I would have flipped the page. Still, it got someone's attention and is that not what an ad is ultimately supposed to do? Either way, I would bet that the ad even without the wording would have offended someone, somewhere and somehow. Such is the world that we live in...

[AdamSmith]

Imagine some editor letting that line into print between two hunks in an Abercrombie ad...

[whipped guy]

Maybe the advertisement will warn others about keeping their drink close to them. I don't get why straight guys do this kind of tricks in this world and age when a couple of dinners is enough to get sex with daddy's little girl...

The marketing department.

 

They are always looking for something overly clever. It got us discussing it here. Now I have never set foot in a Bloomingdales as far as I know. The discussion here reminded me that they are still in business, for what that's worth!?!?! As I noted, if confronted with the ad I would have flipped the page. I have conditioned myself not to be influenced by such silly ads.

 

Actually..... Prior to flipping the page I would have lusted after the guy for at least a millisecond... Well possibly a bit longer than that...

[whipped guy]

Imagine some editor letting that line into print between two hunks in an Abercrombie ad...

Now I might have never set foot in a Bloomingdales, but I have checked out Abercrombie! Not to mention the guys that they at times strategically place outside to attract customers. A trip to the mall on the next rainy day seems in order!

[whipped guy]

My favorite Abercrombie story. A friend brought her then 80 something year old mother to Abercrombie so she could buy a gift certificate for her grandson. Grandma looked around and exclaimed, "My lord! Are you sure that I should get him a gift certificate from this place. Nothing is pressed!" That was before she noticed the pics on the walls.......

[+ sync]

The following quote from theguardian report summarizes my take on it.

 

"Many people were baffled the line ever made it to publication, and questioned the editorial process and decision."

[+ FreshFluff]

If the ad were aimed at men buying gifts for their girlfriends, the female model would have been wearing something sexier and more revealing. Instead, the ad appears aimed at women who are buying clothes for themselves in advance of the holiday party season. I think the idea was that she had spiked his drink, which is why she's laughing.

 

Even if that were the case, it would be a mistake for Bloomingdale's to explain it. From a business perspective, apologizing was the only way to go.

 

Maybe the advertisement will warn others about keeping their drink close to them. I don't get why straight guys do this kind of tricks in this world and age when a couple of dinners is enough to get sex with daddy's little girl...

 

The guys willing to do that don't want to wait for two dates. They want it now. (I know this is going to start the whole "rape is about power" discussion, but I don't think it's that simple.)

 

And it's not just straight men. I know an attractive gay men who says he's had his drink roofied several times.

[marylander1940]

yes, we partially agree.

 

Maybe 10% of rapist are the nerdy looking guy with a knife in the parking lot, the other 90% are the "normal" looking guy who just can't wait because he thinks he needs/deservers to get it without the social courtship whatever that means now a days.

 

I've heard stories about gay rape too, very sad, one the guys got infected with HIV that way. Unfortunately when it comes to jails, a man raping another man, sounds like an accepted joke. Thanks for bringing up this two aspects.

 

 

 

 

The guys willing to do that don't want to wait for two dates. They want it now. (I know this is going to start the whole "rape is about power" discussion, but I don't think it's that simple.)

 

And it's not just straight men. I know an attractive gay men who says he's had his drink roofied several times.

[Lookin]

SPIKE YOUR

BEST FRIEND’S

EGGNOG WHEN THEY’RE

NOT LOOKING.

 

 

Honestly! “BEST FRIEND” is clearly singular, and “THEY’RE” is anything but. They may be going for sexual ambiguity as to who’s the spiker and who’s the spikee, but ignoring good grammar is not the way to go about it.

 

http://www.newnotizie.it/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/schoolteacher.jpg

 

Walmart might get away with it, but Bloomie’s?

 

An apology is the least they should issue. http://www.boytoy.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif

[+ FreshFluff]

At the ACES conference, the topic of singular “they” came up again and again—for example, at a session I took part in called “Ask a Lexicographer,” with representatives from Merriam-Webster, American Heritage and Oxford dictionaries.

 

When pressed on whether “they” could serve as a singular pronoun, my fellow lexicographers and I pointed out that it already has done so for about seven centuries, appearing in the work of writers from Chaucer to Shakespeare to Jane Austen.

 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/can-they-be-accepted-as-a-singular-pronoun-1428686651

[Becket]

Yawn. Aren't we just looking for something over which we can be outraged.

 

More interesting to me is the fact that "to be 'Bill Cosby-ed' now is something everyone understands. Has anyone fallen further than our favorite Dad and comedian? I can't think of anyone. OJ perhaps?

[Becket]

Yawn. Aren't we just looking for something over which we can be outraged.

 

More interesting to me is the fact that "to be 'Bill Cosby-ed' now is something everyone understands. Has anyone fallen further than our favorite Dad and comedian? I can't think of anyone. OJ perhaps?

[whipped guy]

Yawn. Aren't we just looking for something over which we can be outraged.

Exactly! That seems to be the order of the day of late.

 

Plus, it's official. The guy who wrote that ad copy was just given a promotion to Vice President of the marketing firm.

 

Yep, you write something nonsensical that can be interpreted as a bit off the reservation. That gets the reader a bit shaken up. Then you add in a possible grammatical error that might cause someone to ponder things a bit longer. These are the the hooks that grab the reader's attention and we have not even gotten to the line and sinker yet. The trap was set and a whole bunch from the Guardian to Daddy's playpen took the bait. Nothing wrong with that, but it shows how professional marketers are able to easily manipulate the public and if nothing else bring attention to what they are marketing.

 

Seriously, I really would like to know how much publicity that page has gotten Bloomingdales!

 

Heck I'm even somewhat enticed to check out the Bloomingdales experience . Unfortunately the closest Bloomingdales is a lowly Outlet Store. I don't think that it would be quite the same. Therefore I'll pass. Plus, I would have to go by at least two Walmarts in order to get there. Now that really would be a temptation!

[whipped guy]

Yawn. Aren't we just looking for something over which we can be outraged.

Exactly! That seems to be the order of the day of late.

 

Plus, it's official. The guy who wrote that ad copy was just given a promotion to Vice President of the marketing firm.

 

Yep, you write something nonsensical that can be interpreted as a bit off the reservation. That gets the reader a bit shaken up. Then you add in a possible grammatical error that might cause someone to ponder things a bit longer. These are the the hooks that grab the reader's attention and we have not even gotten to the line and sinker yet. The trap was set and a whole bunch from the Guardian to Daddy's playpen took the bait. Nothing wrong with that, but it shows how professional marketers are able to easily manipulate the public and if nothing else bring attention to what they are marketing.

 

Seriously, I really would like to know how much publicity that page has gotten Bloomingdales!

 

Heck I'm even somewhat enticed to check out the Bloomingdales experience . Unfortunately the closest Bloomingdales is a lowly Outlet Store. I don't think that it would be quite the same. Therefore I'll pass. Plus, I would have to go by at least two Walmarts in order to get there. Now that really would be a temptation!

[Lookin]

Yawn. Aren't we just looking for something over which we can be outraged.

 

That's definitely why I'm here! Usually the Politics Forum is fertile ground but it's been a little sluggish today. http://www.boytoy.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif

 

http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/22/229595/2606578-angry-old-man-with-computer.jpg

[Lookin]

Yawn. Aren't we just looking for something over which we can be outraged.

 

That's definitely why I'm here! Usually the Politics Forum is fertile ground but it's been a little sluggish today. http://www.boytoy.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif

 

http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/22/229595/2606578-angry-old-man-with-computer.jpg

[+ deej]

Maybe SHE is the one thinking about spiking HIS drink.

[+ deej]

Maybe SHE is the one thinking about spiking HIS drink.

[Despardo]

I am not at all puritanical or overly politically correct, but please! Nobody at Bloomies had a clue that the ad would be explosively offensive???

Doesn't someone have to approve these things before they go into print? Are they that stupid?

Drugging someone without their knowledge (yes, alcohol counts) is not cool or funny.

There is now even a nail polish on the market that changes color if one dips a finger into a drink that has been drugged.

Yes, there is a real problem out there. I am not offended by much, but I was by this ad. What kind of organization uses rape as a marketing gimmick.

[Despardo]

I am not at all puritanical or overly politically correct, but please! Nobody at Bloomies had a clue that the ad would be explosively offensive???

Doesn't someone have to approve these things before they go into print? Are they that stupid?

Drugging someone without their knowledge (yes, alcohol counts) is not cool or funny.

There is now even a nail polish on the market that changes color if one dips a finger into a drink that has been drugged.

Yes, there is a real problem out there. I am not offended by much, but I was by this ad. What kind of organization uses rape as a marketing gimmick.

[Guest]

If the ad were aimed at men buying gifts for their girlfriends, the female model would have been wearing something sexier and more revealing. Instead, the ad appears aimed at women who are buying clothes for themselves in advance of the holiday party season. I think the idea was that she had spiked his drink, which is why she's laughing.

 

That's what happens when people can't get their damned grammar straight. Friend is singular, not plural. So it's "Spike your best friend's eggnog when HE'S not looking," not "...when they're not looking." No one speaks proper English these days. Even then, it's still in bad taste. My current domestic partner once had his drink spiked and woke up with a sore ass. Months worrying about seroconverting...

[Guest]

If the ad were aimed at men buying gifts for their girlfriends, the female model would have been wearing something sexier and more revealing. Instead, the ad appears aimed at women who are buying clothes for themselves in advance of the holiday party season. I think the idea was that she had spiked his drink, which is why she's laughing.

 

That's what happens when people can't get their damned grammar straight. Friend is singular, not plural. So it's "Spike your best friend's eggnog when HE'S not looking," not "...when they're not looking." No one speaks proper English these days. Even then, it's still in bad taste. My current domestic partner once had his drink spiked and woke up with a sore ass. Months worrying about seroconverting...