Bloomingdale's holiday catalog advertisement this 2015 has gotten the wrath of many concerned individuals lately as it purportedly encourages date rape.
In a report on Tech Insider, it was mentioned that the company has immediately issued an apology amid the ballooning crisis.
"In reflection of recent feedback, the copy we used in our recent catalog was inappropriate and in poor taste," the shopping store said in a statement as quoted by the source above. "Bloomingdale's sincerely apologizes for this error in judgement."
According to Huffington Post, the Bloomingdale's holiday catalog 2015 advertisement featured a woman in a smart trendy outfit looking somewhere else while a man in a suit watched her. There was nothing wrong with the picture but many netizens and the rest of the public that saw it were apparently scandalized when they saw the blurb that accompanied the image.
"Spike your best friend's eggnog when they're not looking," the advertisement read as tweeted by some who saw it.
As told by The Guardian, the statement caused rage across social media platforms with many questioning how insensitive the ad was about date rape. Many also wondered how it got approved in the first place.
"How many people were involved in developing and approving the #Bloomingdales ad?" questioned user David Robson as cited by the source above.
"Bloomingdales ad normalizes date rape, makes taking advantage of women 'mainstream' and 'aspirational,'" user Jack Monroe pointed out. "No such thing as rape jokes. Ever."
The retail company reiterated their apology over the incident on Twitter once again after the statement to Tech Insider about the Bloomingdale's holiday catalog 2015 advertisement but was still met by outrage from the public.
Bloomingdale's has yet to reveal whether they have finally pulled out the advertisement. But according to Cosmopolitan it would be impossible to do it as the advertisements have been released early on.
Drug rape is "is one of the most common sexual assault crimes today," as reported by Fortune. Spiking drinks was also considered illegal according to the report.
