“Funeral House” from North Rhine-Westphalia causes a stir with its Borussia Munich poster

A “funeral house” from NRW uses the two most successful football clubs in Germany in recent years for advertising purposes. What’s behind it.

Dortmund – At least since the championships in 2011 and 2012, the rivalry between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich has grown. Both fan camps treat each other very little. A “funeral house” from North Rhine-Westphalia has taken advantage of this rivalry and advertises dead customers with wild graphics and a cheeky slogan.

“Hin & Weg”-Bestattungen from NRW uses a Borussia Munich poster to attract customers

Every football fan in Germany knows the coats of arms of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. After all, these two clubs have shaped the last few years in the Bundesliga and – from a German perspective – the successes in the Champions League. A “funeral company” with the name “Hin & Weg” from North Rhine-Westphalia came up with the wild idea and mixed both coats of arms.

The result: The new football club “FC Borussia Munich” is to advertise special burials. In addition, the “company” advertises on Twitter with the slogan: “With us, every fan comes into the corner” for a football fan funeral at that very “company”.

The question quickly arises for the viewer: Does the company mean it seriously? Why mix up one of football’s biggest rivalries to get customers? After all, the subject of “death” is a sensitive subject.

Post on Twitter by a “undertaker” from NRW – polarized satire

The “promotion” on Twitter is obviously pure satire. In reality, there is no real funeral home behind the name “Hin & Weg”, like that WDR writes.

An anonymous satirist from Münster regularly posts “advertising posters” on Twitter and Instagram with snappy slogans and polarizing topics.

An example: Around the turn of the year, a fictional poster was posted in which a young man proudly points to his mechanical hand. Apparently he lost his hand before that. In addition, “Hin & Weg”-Bestattungen posts the following saying: “Real men don’t let anything stop them”. The young man also wears a T-shirt with the slogan: “I love firecrackers”.

“Funeral House” from North Rhine-Westphalia mixes coats of arms from Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich

Compared to the WDR reports the man, who absolutely wants to remain anonymous: “My goal is attention. And I achieve that by crossing borders with my posts”.

And this crossing of borders arrives. More than 11,000 followers follow Hin & Weg funerals on Twitter. It remains to be seen whether the account will now gain more BVB and Bayern fans.

List of rubrics: © Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa