High-end retail giant Bloomingdale's is apologizing after an ad in its holiday catalog sparked online backlash, with many claiming the it encouraged date rape. On Tuesday, this image from the company's 2015 holiday campaign made the rounds on social media.
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The ad reads: “Spike your best friend’s eggnog when they’re not looking,” and shows a man in a suit glancing at an unsuspecting woman.
Many on Twitter expressed varying degrees of outrage at the implications:
The retailer, which is a division of Macy's, later issued this apology on Twitter:
A Bloomingdale's spokesperson has issued a separate statement to MSNBC:
"In reflection of recent feedback, the copy we used in our current catalog was inappropriate and in poor taste. Bloomingdale's sincerely apologizes for this error in judgement."