What would be your thoughts if you saw this line accompanying fashion pictures in the holiday catalog of a high-end retailer? (see details)

Odd.

Who’s drinking eggnog that doesn’t already have booze in it? Are they nine?

Me, for one. I like the taste of eggnog and look forward to this time of the year. So, I have a glass for dessert, but that doesn’t mean I want to get sloshed. So, I enjoy mine straight from the carton with nothing else added :)

But, you have a good point nonetheless.

The words “spike” and “friend” should never be in the same sentence unless the sentence is “No friend ever spikes a friend’s drink!”
Unless ALL parties agree to it, spiking is unacceptable behavior. Ever. Where does it stop? Would spiking with GHB, Roofies or Special K be acceptable? Not in my book.
(The marketing manager of Bloomingdale’s needs a swift kick in the balls.)

I, too, drink eggnog straight or with a dash of extra nutmeg on the top for texture.. Any liquid addition ruins the creaminess.

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Bloomie’s has apologized for the ad but it is still in print. Someone’s truly awful “clever” idea.

Looks like the sh*t storm is happening already. News article and picture of the ad .

Ladies. Don’t accept drinks from guys unless they are served to you directly from the bar. Better yet. Buy your own!

.

Plot twist: She spiked his eggnog.

And he’s mad because she used rum instead of brandy.

@janbb

Unfortunately, this is not an ad. It’s a page from their current catalog and they’ve mailed out a ton of them.

They can remove it from the online edition, but that printed catalog is now in the homes of thousands on their mailing list.

What strikes me as so strange is that any catalog or ad copy is pored over and vetted by numerous people all up the chain and nobody raised their hand and said “Wait a minute here…”

Do they have any women involved in this process or is it all men? And if there are women involved, were they too cautious (or cowed) to risk going against the tide?

I find it strains credibility that NOBODY noticed a problem, especially in light of the recent revelations in the Cosby situation, don’t you?

So why didn’t anybody pipe up and say something.

And why did it need any text at all? I’m just kind of astounded by the whole thing.

When I first heard about this, it was only the first part of the sentence which isn’t necessarily that bad as conceivably both people could be in on it.

But when they add “when they’re not looking” that pretty much removes all doubt.

What were these people thinking?

@Buttonstc Oh I know it was in the catalog and that’s why it’s still in print; I used the wrong word when I said ad.

I agree; it’s amazingly crass that it got printed.

Hard to say without the context. I’m not the Bloomies’ target audience, so I don’t get the catalogue. Maybe it’s several pages of “Ways to have fun at a party”.

Hang the mistletoe over the punch bowl!
Play spin the bottle with that empty champagne!
Have a adult toy gag gift exchange!
Spike your friend’s drink when they’re not looking!

I’m wondering… Does that ad make anyone want to run right out and buy B-Dale’s stuff?

Change to copy to:

Only losers need drugs to get laid!
An awake lover is a better lover!
or
Start running! When she figures it out you’re a dead man!

@Seek

I’m going to assume that if there were any “redeeming” context at all that they would have mentioned it as part of the apology.

But even if it was in the exact context which you describe, with all of those phrases the same, I think it’s those final four words which creeps people out.

Had they omitted “when they’re not looking” I seriously doubt that the outrage would have been so strong. Let’s not forget the very recent (less than 6 months) revelations that “when they’re not looking” is precisely what Cosby chose to do.

BTW

Has anybody else noticed that the male model bears more than just a passing resemblance to Robert Chambers. (Google Image him) That was the first thing I noticed when I finally viewed that page. Really creepy.

Yeah, I know that the publicity was back in the late 60s, but that case is one that you just can’t erase from your memory.

I mean, this took place in Central Park and Bloomingdales is a NYC company in origin. If they were in West Gibbip somewhere…..but they’re right there and the papers were inundated for years with his face and the attendant publicity.

It’s been a long long time since I’ve lived in NY, but I’ve never forgotten that case.

Robert Chambers apparently killed a girl back in the late 80s (when I was living in NYC as an infant), and was released from prison in 2003. He, himself, was born in 1966… so even your memory is a bit off.

I’ve just read a few people saying he looks like Robin Thicke.

Anyway, the ad had the desired effect. We are now much more aware of the Bloomingdale’s Holiday Catalogue than we were before this happened.

@Seek

Yeah, numbers were never my strong suit, that’s for sure :)

And we are aware of Bloomie’s catalog, but not really in a good way.

As @LuckyGuy observed, it doesn’t exactly make anyone eager to go buy something from them :)

Eggnog? Hahahahahahahahaha…ahhahahahahaha…<hiccup>

Robert Chambers currently in jail since 2008 on a drug charge. Release date 2024. Read on:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Chambers_(criminal)

It was a big thing in NYC and the area at the time he did his “Preppy Murder.”

That is weird.

Horrible. I worked for Bloomingdale’s for 8 years, and I just cannot believe they printed that. What were they thinking?

@JLeslie

I’m assuming that you worked on the sales floor so might not know the answer to this Q.

Were there women ad copy writers as well as men or is it more like the vibe at Mad Men?

I have difficulty thinking that a woman would fail to spot the obvious here.

@Buttonstc I worked there many years ago. I didn’t know the advertising people, but there certainly were women in high level positions. At that time the two highest positions were men, but the third in line was a woman. Also, many women at the VP level back then. Bloomingdale’s was never a Mad Men culture when I was there in my opinion.

That ad doesn’t sound like a male mistake, it sounds like a young and stupid mistake.

I just don’t see how that got past two sets of eyes.

I certainly have been out to dinner with people from the central offices. Plus, I was a buyer for cosmetics and fragrances at one point, and went to a launch party or two for a new fragrance, and I have never seen anyone drink too heavily. None of them have ever seemed to be part of that “oh I was so drunk” culture. But, I never knew any of the people in advertising or marketing.

Plus, I never heard of any woman being sexually harassed at Bloomies. It might have happened once or twice that I was unaware of, but it wasn’t the culture.

Remember, it’s run in liberal NYC, plus lots of Jews in the organization. Jews aren’t known for drinking games, so it’s pretty surprising to me. I’m disappointed this happened at Bloomingdale’s. I’d be really disappointed and shocked if Jews wrote and approved the copy.

I googled and it looks like Bloomies came out with an apology.

Honestly, I think proofreaders and copy editors have become extinct in the digital age.

“Print” has become an anachronism. People are just too used to posting and editing after-the-fact.
There was a question here, on Fluther, about a news story and by the time I opened the story the questionable part was long gone. Fast with flash is the ticket.

^ Honestly, I think proofreaders and copy editors have become extinct in the digital age.

Not for lack of available work, that’s for sure. If I could get paid for every time I’ve red-lined a printed newspaper or even a blog, I’d be a millionaire.

^ When I still read the local paper I’d make sport out of using a red pencil and the proofreading marks I learned as editor of the HS newspaper. I never bothered sharing, because I knew they just didn’t care.
And this before we went fully digital.

It’s sad. I think the proofreaders were in the first wave of lay-offs at media outlets, nationwide.

I LOVE proofreading marks. It’s like a secret language now.