Samsung has issued an apology for a recent commercial depicting a woman getting up at 2:00 a.m. to go for a solo run through the streets of a city. Some women’s running clubs and safety advocates have blasted the commercial as “unrealistic.”
The ‘Night Owls’ ad was created to send a good message: to “celebrate individualism and the freedom to exercise at any time.”
In light of the death of Ashling Murphy, who was slain on the run in January, the women’s safety group Reclaim These Streets has called it “tone-deaf.” The killing of the 23-year-old in Tullamore, Ireland, sparked a discussion about how perilous it is for some women to run alone, especially at night. As posts and tales about women being harassed while running surfaced, the hashtag #shewasonarun was born.
As a result, Esther Newman, editor of Women’s Running magazine and podcast, believes that this advertisement “doesn’t represent the truth.”
She told Radio 1 Newsbeat, “Women don’t run at that time because we are too afraid.” “It’s a complete shock. I don’t know any woman who would go for a run at 2:00 a.m. Not in a metropolis, for sure.”
According to the Office for National Statistics, half of all women have felt insecure travelling alone in the dark at some point. According to comments made online in response to the Samsung commercial, running is no exception, with some calling it “ridiculous” and “unrelatable.”
Samsung has informed Radio 1 Newsbeat that “being disrespectful to ongoing issues around women’s safety” was never their aim. It goes on to say, “We apologies for how this may have been received.”
“We can guarantee you that the meaning behind this advertisement is for all Galaxy customers/viewers to reach their health and wellness goals on their own schedules,” Samsung responded to some of the comments on social media.
