Every organization dreams of capturing the biggest chunk of the market which translates into increased revenues. The best means to achieve this is through conducting advertisements of its products or services. Nonetheless, regardless of whether one is the end consumer or the manufacturer, it is crucial for one to become well-versed with the advantages of using the appropriate advertisement techniques. Any misappropriate advertisement can clog the objective of the undertaking and instead of raising awareness about a product or service in the market, it can lead to adverse outcomes for a company.
Bloomingdale is a luxury department store owned by Macy’s. The company is highly recognized for its fashion leadership, originality, and innovation. Additionally, the brand is a leading attraction for international and domestic tourist across the globe. Nonetheless, in 2015, during the holiday seasons, in one of its ads featuring Rebecca Minkoff merchandise, it highlighted a man staring at a gorgeous woman facing in the opposite direction and included a caption stating “Spike Your Best Friend’s Egg Nog When They Are Not Looking,” (Chadbourn, 2015). The reaction from this ad was swift as consumers across the globe backlashed the firm.
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According to Bloomingdale’s ad, it seemed to promote date rape. The U.S Department of Justice states that drug rape is amongst the most prevalent sexual assault crimes in the country (National Institute of Justice, 2010). The drugs placed in an individual’s drink will alter their consciousness making it hard for them to engage in a sound-decision making or even self-defense. In relation to Bloomingdale’s ad, it was promoting date rape by asking people to spike someone else’s drink. Sexual assault is a serious problem not only in the USA but the entire globe. Thousands of women are sexually assaulted, and at times, most are unwilling to report the crime.
After the ad, the company faced an elevated public backlash. Conferring to one Twitter user Annamarie , she stated “Seriously Bloomingdales- your holiday ad encourages people to date rape. What were you thinking?” (Chadbourn, 2015). A considerable part of the public believed that the ad appeared in a poor taste and was oblivious towards the serious issue of date rape. A substantial number of countries have begun conducting campaigns against date rape, and following the ad by Bloomingdales, it seemed to dent the campaigns’ outcomes. The company was making date rape to look more appealing, and this would have made the people who crave such acts to engage in them.
In a universe rife with technological advancements, a single click of a button can have far-reaching impacts. Therefore, any mistakes made can be dramatically amplified, and if one does not take the right steps, it can have far-reaching outcomes. Crisis management is the foundation for solving any mistakes made by an organization (George et al., 2014). The public is always ready to attack and point out any mistake made by any business entity. As seen from the case of Bloomingdale, its advertisement was not well-received by the general public who make up its end-consumers. It was, therefore , necessary for the company to take immediate actions for its involvements. Following the ad, the company as forced to issue an apology on its social media page on Twitter which state “we heard your feedback about our catalog copy which was inappropriate and in poor taste. Bloomingdale’s sincerely apologizes,” (Chadbourn, 2015). Additionally, the company also issued an apology statement on various media outlets.
The main repercussion for such undertakings is a decline in sales resulting from a reduced customer number . In addition, the company can also lose some of its business partners and investors we do not condone date rape acts. In the case of date rape victims, they are bound to raise campaigns against the company for supporting the spiking of drinks. However, in order to ensure that the company does not have to face the negative publicity that dents its reputation and image leading to reduced sales. The firm should have reviewed the ad before running it on the various media platforms.
Being the CEO, it is one’s duty to ensure that an organization is running at its efficient and effective capacity. It is also one’s duty to ensure that any setbacks that might affect the firm in its future and current operations are taken care off. In the case of Bloomingdale's, being the CEO, after the ad surfaced online, I would take the leading role in apologizing to the general public about the mishap. This would have played a vital role in calming the consumers for a CEO is the highest authoritative figure in the company. Additionally, I would have ensured that the ad firm used in coming up with the feature is replaced and donating their fees to rape crisis centers for sorry in most cases would not have appeased the consumers.
The advertisement is a vital undertaking for any business that would want to increase is customer numbers thus revenue. It is vital for a business to come up with an ad that will attract the consumers into purchasing their products or services. Nonetheless, an ad can also have adverse outcomes for a firm if not well produced. As seen from the case of Bloomingdale, its advertisement was meant to increase awareness of its products during the holiday seasons. Nonetheless, it turned out to become a marketing mishap. The firm was subjected to an intense public outcry for promoting date rape and it was forced to issue an apology . The end result of this most likely translated into low customer numbers and increased campaigns against the firm by rape victims all which affected its reputation and image.
References
Chadbourn, M. (2015). Bloomingdale’s issues apology for holiday ad. AbcNews . Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/Business/bloomingdales-issues-apology-holiday-ad/story?id=35151882
George, A. M., Kwansah-Aidoo, K., & Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. IEEE. (2017). Culture and crisis communication: Transboundary cases from nonwestern perspectives . Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.
National Institute of Justice. (2010). Rape and sexual violence . Office of Justice Programs . Retrieved from https://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/rape-sexual-violence/Pages/victims-perpetrators.aspx
