Samsung Apologized After Being Slammed For Its ‘Tone deaf’ And ‘Unrealistic’ Smartwatch Ad

by Victoria Marian Belmis / May 06, 2022 11:11 AM EDT

Samsung received a backlash for its smartwatch ad that shows a woman wearing a Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Buds running alone in the middle of a city at 2 AM. Critics have dubbed the ad as both "unrealistic" and "tone-deaf" in the wake of the murder of Ashling Murphy, a 23-year-old who was killed while running in January in Dublin, Ireland.

The advertisement is clearly oblivious to the dangers of nighttime running. The 23-year-old's death in Tullamore, Co Offaly, sparked vigils across Ireland and beyond, calling for a change in tackling gender-based violence. It led to the hashtag #shewasonarun as women shared stories about being harassed while out running.

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Samsung has apologized for the ad, conveying to BBC Radio 1 that it hadn't intended to "be insensitive to ongoing conversations around women's safety" and that "the 'Night Owls' campaign was designed with a positive message in mind: to celebrate individuality and freedom to exercise at all hours."

For many individuals and groups, safety while running outdoors is a real concern. A 2019 Runners World survey found that 84 percent of women had been harassed during a run while 70 percent of men had not. A disturbing 94 percent of women also said no one helped them while being harassed.

Present-day tech-based solutions to alleviate this issue are still lacking. Apps like Strava will allow you to edit your routes so that potential stalkers can't see where you start or end a run. Other wearable devices, like Invisawear, create fitness bands that are powered by ADT and can connect you with emergency services if you feel unsafe but don't actually track your activity. Garmin recently introduced a promising no-touch LED flashlight for nighttime runners on its largely sized 51mm Fenix 7X.

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Even though Samsung's plan with the ad wasn't intended to be malicious, it's still a solemn indicator and reminder that smartwatch and wearable tech has not gotten to the point where anyone has the "freedom to exercise at all hours."