Adidas’ response to Samsung’s “Night Owl” ad is making waves around the world.
“The Ridiculous Run” by Adidas challenges Samsung’s controversial spot featuring a woman going for a run in the city at 2 am, interacting with other night owls along the way.
The ad sparked outrage due to its disregard for the reality of women’s safety and even racked up 27 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority. The complaints were eventually cleared by the ASA, but the ad was pulled from official Samsung channels.
The multinational sportswear brand has taken Samsung’s “Night Owls” campaign and turned it on its head, presenting all the measures women need to take to feel safe while running or exercising at night.
The spot sees a group of women running at night, chaperoned by a police car, an officer on horseback, guards on quad bikes and more. “This is ridiculous, so is 92% of women feeling unsafe when they run,” voices the campaign.
The shocking statistic comes from a survey by Adidas of 9,000 women, researched through its running app.
According to the results, over a third of women have experienced physical or verbal harassment while running or exercising in the streets. Additionally, 68% of women take precautions to feel safe, such as bringing alert whistles, wearing oversized clothing and running with just one earphone in.
Advertising agency TBWA/Neboko is behind the spot, which has successfully reinitiated a widespread discussion of women’s safety and how it is presented in advertising.
“The Ridiculous Run” is part of Adidas’ With Women We Run project in coordination with White Ribbon, which addresses harassment and safety in running.
