Samsung has apologised for its advert showing a woman running alone at 02:00 through the streets of a city. The advertisement is criticized for being ‘’unrealistic’’. Many women and running groups criticise the advertisement.
Meanwhile, Samsung told Radio 1 Newsbeat that the intention of the advert was never to go around the insensitive conversation about women’s safety. It adds, ‘’ we apologised for how this may have been received.’’
The campaign was created by Ogilvy New York featuring a woman running alone
Though the campaign ‘’ Night Owls’ was designed to spread a positive message about individuality and freedom of exercise at any hours. However, it was perceived by many as unrealistic. It sparks a hashtag #shewasonrun as stories were shared about women being harassed while running.
The advert is for a Galaxy Fitness watch that says ‘’your galaxy, your way ‘’. Editor of women’s running Magazine and podcast Esther Newman says this advertisement is ‘’ not representing the truth.’’ In reality, no woman can run alone without being harassed at night. She says, ‘’ Women don’t run at that time because we are too scared to,’’. She added, ‘’ It’s shocking. I don’t know any women who would be running at 2:00 in the morning. Certainly not in a city.’’
Meanwhile, recent data by the Office of national statistics show that almost half of all women have felt unsafe at some point walking alone at night. Meanwhile, responding to the comments from the audience, Samsung replied, ‘’ We can assure you that the meaning of this advert is for all Galaxy customers/viewers to achieve their health and wellness goals on their schedule.’’
Esther Newman also points out about the lead character in the advert saying that she is running with headphones on. He added, ‘’ Wearing headphones is a contentious point. Most women runners I know don’t wear headphones, and that’s during the day because they are concerned about their safety.’’
