A funeral service in Russia is facing heat for hiring semi-nude models for advertisement. Undertakers Horonim.ru in Moscow portrayed scantily clad women dancing around coffins in a bid to promote their services. The company posted videos on social media featuring models to advertise their funeral services 'for all categories of citizens.'
The 42-second long clip featured women in lingerie and stripper heels posing with the coffin, including a model who hopped inside the casket and wriggled around while another put her leg atop the closed portion and posed for the camera.
One model, who wore a pair of thongs posed on top of the closed casket while another was pictured inside an open casket in a backbend with one leg in the air. Some models were pictured sitting at a throne alongside the funeral service's ornate sympathy floral arrangements.
A 29-year-old SMM created the ad
According to East2West news service, funeral service noted in the ad that they have their 'own staff of qualified agents, who supervise the organization of the funeral at every stage, from paperwork to the rite.'
The video was posted last week on Instagram, and TikTok and has since gone viral and received severe backlash. The ad campaign is said to have been created by Horonim.ru's 29-year-old social media manager (SMM), Albert Mazzafarov, according to the news outlet.
Who owns Horonim.ru?
The funeral service is owned by a 35-year-old former military officer Vasily Lukovnikov, who claims to have 'municipal' links. On the other hand, the SMM, Mazzafarov behind the controversial ad was described as a 'responsible and sociable person,' in a video posted on the company's Instagram earlier.
It is not clear if there would be any legal action against the funeral service as of now.
