Cashmere Mafia Nurses in Bondage

November 16, 2007 -- Department store chain Bloomingdale's recently began running a radio commercial that reportedly featured a sultry nurse seducing a physician with a cashmere sweater. The Center's Long Island chapter president alerted us to the ad. We contacted Bloomingdale's and explained how ads like this, no matter how luxuriously soft and enticing, reinforce the stereotype of nurses as brainless workplace sluts. The company decided to pull the ad just hours later.

Long Island Chapter President Donna Tanzi told us about this ad. We immediately contacted Bloomingdale's. Senior Vice President of Public Relations Anne Keating, who listened to our concerns on the phone for less than a minute before asking for something in writing, presumably to forward to other company executives. We sent an email in about half an hour. Two hours later on a Friday after close of business, Ms. Keating notified us that Bloomingdale's had begun calling radio stations to remove the ad from the air. This prevented the ad from running over that weekend and during the upcoming holiday shopping season.

We thank Donna Tanzi (right) for her quick action, and commend Bloomingdale's for their unusual responsiveness to nurses' concerns.