Advert showing lone female jogger at night ruled ‘safe’
A SAMSUNG advert criticised by feminists for showing a woman running alone at night does not show unsafe behaviour, a watchdog has ruled.
The ad for a smart watch attracted 27 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) citing recent high-profile cases where women had been attacked in similar circumstances.
In April, Reclaim These Streets, a women’s safety group, described the campaign as “tone deaf ” in light of the death of Irish teacher Ashling Murphy, who was killed as she went for a run along a canal in January.
However, the ASA has ruled that the advert does not breach any rules, as the woman featured is not “shown behaving recklessly”.
It said: “We recognised that some care would need to be taken when going for a run alone in the middle of the night, particularly for women, and we considered that people would be likely to realise that by doing so, they could be placed in a vulnerable position. We noted that the woman shown in the ads appeared alert and aware of her surroundings, and was seen running in well-lit, main streets where other people were present. We considered, therefore, that the woman was not shown behaving recklessly or obviously placing herself in danger.
“We considered that running alone at night, of itself, was not likely to result in harm or injury. We concluded that the ads did not encourage an unsafe practice and were not irresponsible.”
Responding to the complaints, Samsung acknowledged that the ads might have been “perceived as insensitive by some viewers, particularly given the recent high-profile attacks on women at night”, and apologised.
The tech giant said the ads would not screen again in the UK but welcomed clarity on whether or not the campaign breached advertising rules.
It added that the victims who had chosen to run alone at night “should never be blamed or judged for deciding to take the risk” and believed that a ruling that advertisers could not show individuals running alone might be perceived in that way.