Samsung has apologised after issuing an advert which shows a woman out running by herself at 2am while wearing the brand's headphones.
The ad has been called "tone deaf" by women's safety campaign group Reclaim These Streets, who drew attention to the killing of 23-year-old teacher Ashling Murphy while she was out on a run in January.
Ashling's death led to an outpouring of grief and anger at another woman being killed, and led to the hashtag "#shewasonarun", with women sharing stories of being harassed while out jogging, the Liverpool ECHO reports.
The issue of women's safety shot to national media attention in March 2021 after the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard by serving police officer Wayne Couzens.
In September 2021, 28-year-old primary school teacher Sabina Nessa was killed while walking through a Greenwich park.
Jamie Klingler, co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, condemned the Samsung advert, saying: "It's so tone-deaf, especially in light of Ashling Murphy's death. It's disrespectful. It isn't safe for us to run at night."
One scene in the advert shows a man on a bike riding up behind the woman, with the pair then interacting.
Ms Klingler was astounded by the scene. "That's the bit that really made me wince", she said, "it's almost laughable how bad this ad is."
She added that the advert "absolutely should be pulled".
Esther Newman, editor of the Women's Running magazine and podcast, said: "I can't imagine any woman wanting to run at that time, anywhere, certainly not in a city.
"It seems like a really naïve advert. In theory, it's a lovely idea (to be able to run at 2am). In reality it's not happening."
"I don't think the ad is dangerous because I don't think any woman would see it and think, 'Oh, I'm going to do that'."
Samsung said: "The Night Owls campaign was designed with a positive message in mind: to celebrate individuality and freedom to exercise at all hours. It was never our intention to be insensitive to ongoing conversations around women's safety.
"As a global company with a diverse workforce, we apologise for how this may have been received."
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