Radio contests come in all shapes and sizes but one at Radio Galaxy in Germany has memorable memorial written all over it.
More than 600 people have entered a contest to win money to cover their funeral by writing their own epitaph for their gravestone. The lucky winner will be the person who produces the most creative adieu. The prize: a cheque for roughly $4200 that must be used for death insurance.
The contest is sponsored by the Erich Kraus Institute, a funeral director in the town of Aschaffenburg where the station is located, and it is not without controversy. The Association of German Undertakers has taken to its website to condemn the contest:
This activity is not just impious and tasteless, it is also immoral as regards to the law against unfair competition.
Sounds like a case of sour caskets, but they are taking the issue seriously and have filed a lawsuit against the station. The ruling is set for March 17, but a winner will be picked before then.
The station defends it’s decision to run the contest saying they wanted to get rid of the “taboo” surrounding death and get their listeners, who are mainly young, talking about the subject. Jens Pflueger, an announcer for the station, explained:
We want to demonstrate that’s it’s good to get death insurance. Older people say it’s tasteless, but we’re not joking – we’re discussing this on air.
[BBC]
