Samsung has apologised for its latest advert that showcases a woman running alone at night after being dubbed ‘tone-deaf’ by viewers. Women’s safety campaigners have criticised the unrealistic concept, particularly since the death of Ashling Murphy who was killed while out for a run in January this year.
The ‘Night Owls’ advert shows a woman running through the dark, deserted streets of a major city at 2am, using the voiceover ‘Sleep at night. Run faster. Push harder. Follow the herd. Not for me, I run on a different schedule – mine.’
‘Just seen a Samsung advert where a woman gets up at 2am and then goes for a run, in the dark, alone, with ear buds in. Do........any women work at Samsung?’ one person tweeted.
‘If only women had the freedom and safety to run at 2am without the fear of male violence,’ another said. ‘Clearly the men making this advert are in their own world unaware of Ashling Murphy who was murdered on a run at 4pm in January.’
Now, the search term ‘Samsung advert woman running’ is trending on Google as people seek to watch the video. You can see it yourself below on YouTube, where it has been viewed over 15million times.
In response, Samsung told Radio 1 Newsbeat that it did not intent to ‘be insensitive to ongoing conversations around women's safety’ and apologised ‘for how this may have been received. The “Night Owls” campaign was designed with a positive message in mind: to celebrate individuality and freedom to exercise at all hours.’
According to recent figures from the Office for National Statistics, half of all women have felt unsafe at some point walking alone in the dark. In the aftermath of Ashling Murphy’s death, the hashtag #SheWasJustGoingForARun was born to showcase how few activities women can do without being subject to male violence. Many women shared their frustrations with feeling as though they are subject to a curfew once the sun goes down – and the countless ways we go out of our way to ‘reduce the risk’ of male violence, as though it’s our responsibility and not men’s.
It's no wonder some are frustrated with the advert then because it goes to show that we no matter how loud we shout online and in real life about the ways male violence disrupts our lives, very few are actually listening. If they were, adverts like this wouldn’t make it to our screens.