Samsung Accused Of “Tone Deaf” Night Running Ad
Baked into any good advertising campaign is an element of truth or reality. Nike learned this early on when they shifted from only showing elite athletes in their ads, to showing everyday scenarios and representing the people they wanted to buy their products. Both Find Your Greatness and Play New are prime examples of this.
Well, this week Samsung has received a tirade of criticism for releasing a “tone deaf” ad in which a woman “runs on her own schedule.” Her schedule being 2am, through a sleeping city. It’s a lovely thought.
A lovely thought, that is, if you completely ignore recent news stories and the cultural movement that has been growing for a few years now. Just 3 months ago, the death of Ashling Murphy who was killed on a run, ignited a movement, again bringing to the fore just how unsafe it can be for a woman to be out alone, especially at night. A subject still fresh in the memory following the killing of Sarah Everard last March.
Before the launch of campaign in which two additional spots will be released soon (I’m guessing sooner than planned now), The Executive Creative Director of advertising agency Ogilvy said the goal was to “push back on health and wellness ‘shoulds’…” and question “ideals” of wellness.
Samsung’s VP of global brand marketing added “We couldn’t be prouder to share what that means for wellness, and the devices that help Gen Z be well in their own way and on their own time.”
Again, these comments were made pre-backlash, but working in the advertising industry, I can sadly imagine how meetings would have blindly spoken about inspiring exercising on one’s own terms, and bringing an element of aspiration in which a lot of good advertising has.
But look through any agency presentation and you’ll see the same rhetoric about cultural relevance and being at the forefront of things going on in the real world. Something that this story, and the Brand Managers for Samsung’s local markets completely overlooked. It’s perhaps no surprise that the team that brought this to life was largely male.
It’s sad, but when it comes to something as basic as running, there isn’t yet a level playing field. Groups of society are still under threat from a toxic subsections that plagues our news cycle on a daily basis. And while this continues to be the case, it would be completely remiss of a brand to suggest otherwise.
*Since writing, Samsung have apologised for how the ad may have been received stating it was never its intention to "be insensitive to ongoing conversations around women's safety."
