Bloomingdale's 'Spiked Eggnog' Ad Sparks Outrage

By Melissa Fares

(Reuters) -- A holiday advertisement by Bloomingdale's that encourages drink spiking was trending heavily on social media on Thursday with some critics saying the image promotes date rape.

The ad, which was released in Bloomingdale's 2015 holiday catalog and was meant to advertise Rebecca Minkoff merchandise, features a woman looking away and laughing as a young man looks at her suggestively. The text reads: "Spike your best friend's eggnog when they're not looking."

The luxury department store owned by Macy's Inc apologized for the 'inappropriate' eggnog advertisement on Tuesday.

"In reflection of recent feedback, the copy we used in our recent catalog was inappropriate and in poor taste,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Bloomingdale’s sincerely apologizes for this error in judgment."

Bloomingdale's also apologized on its official Twitter account (@Bloomingdales) on Tuesday: "We heard your feedback about our catalog copy, which was inappropriate and in poor taste. Bloomingdale's sincerely apologizes."

However, many were not easily forgiving.

"Is this lame apology seriously your company's only response to this ad?" wrote Sara Lynne Thompson (@SlamGamgee) on Twitter.

Another Twitter user @Chrysalis1988 wrote: "Thanx for the apology @Bloomingdales, but maybe let us know when the mindsets that led to the ad have actually changed."

A large majority of the comments online have labeled the ad as "creepy."

Bud Light, produced by Anheuser-Busch InBev, experienced a similar backlash in April with an ad that said "The perfect beer for removing 'no' from your vocabulary for the night."

(Reporting by Melissa Fares; Editing by Tom Brown and Andrew Hay)