This funeral home made a grave mistake by hiring drop-dead gorgeous models.
A mortuary service in Russia seems to believe that sex sells — even in death — judging by a photo shoot in which it hired scantily clad women to dance around coffins to promote its services.
Undertakers Horonim.ru in Moscow are facing mortified backlash over their decision to enlist a bevy of beauties for a stunt to promote funeral services “for all categories of citizens” on Instagram and TikTok.
The 42-second clip branded “tasteless and offensive” on social media shows women in lingerie and stripper heels posing with coffins — including one buxom babe who hopped inside the casket and writhed around while another gal put her leg atop the closed portion and smized for the camera.
One thong-wearing glamour girl even posed on top of the closed casket with her rump in the air while another showed off her flexibility inside an open casket in a backbend with one leg in the air.
For reasons unknown, some of the women modeled hooded sweatshirts — but without pants on — while others sat at a throne alongside the funeral service’s ornate sympathy floral arrangements.
“We have our own staff of qualified agents, who supervise the organization of the funeral at every stage — from paperwork to the rite,” the ad noted, according to East2West news service, though it’s unclear if the coffin models are part of that staff.
The video has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on TikTok and Instagram since posted on Jan. 21 and 22, respectively — and garnered a slew of outraged comments.
“It’s horrible. They are out of their minds,” one commenter wrote, while another questioned: “Isn’t this blasphemy? I think it is.”
“Why do we need nude women to advertise something so private and somber?” asked another while one pointed out the clip is “advertising for death.”
“The real horror is that people have lost all boundaries,” chimed in another. “The world has gone mad.”
Another critic said the ad is “tasteless and offensive to those who need to bury their loved ones.”
The campaign was reportedly created by Horonim.ru’s 29-year-old social media manager, Albert Mazzafarov, according to the news service, and the company boss Vasily Lukovnikov, 35, is a former military officer who claims to have “municipal” links.
Mazzafarov is listed as a “responsible and sociable person, always ready to help his colleagues in any difficult situation” in another video from the funeral service posted in November.
“My work is connected with the mournful events that happen in the life of every person, so I, as a specialist in such a difficult field, can help in the quality organization of the funeral,” Mazzafarov said, according to the video’s caption translated from Russian.
It’s unclear if there will be legal action taken against the undertakers in Russia, the same country where a new indecency law could land an influencer, who posed naked for a photo in front of a church, in jail for “insulting the religious feelings of believers.” The law issued by the Kremlin is meant to crack down on those who unlawfully post racy images nearby religious or state buildings, though it’s unclear if private businesses are included.