Samsung cleared by UK watchdog of ad showing woman running alone early in the morning
KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 — An advertising watchdog in the UK has cleared Korean conglomerate Samsung of an advertisement that shows a woman running alone at 2am.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the advertisement “did not encourage an unsafe practice and was not irresponsible” despite complaints about the ad, BBC reported.
Samsung had previously apologised for how the ‘Night Owls’ advertisement might have been received when it was first launched in April.
It showed a young woman running alone in London at night with headphones in to promote the Galaxy Watch and Buds.
Following the release of the advertisement, 27 complaints were filed to the ASA from viewers who mentioned the number of recent high-profile cases where women had been attacked in similar circumstances.
Women’s running groups and campaigners also reportedly said the advertisement was “unrealistic”.
However, the ASA found it did not breach advertising rules — meaning no further action will be taken — after reviewing it.
“We considered that running alone at night, of itself, was not likely to result in harm or injury,” the watchdog said.
“Whilst we acknowledged that an attack could happen, that was outside of a person’s control and it could also happen in other, everyday scenarios and at all times of the day or night.”
Samsung said it was “fully co-operative” with the ASA’s investigation into the ‘Night Owls’ campaign.
The tech giant previously said it never intended to “be insensitive to ongoing conversations around women’s safety”.
