Revenge honey against Jan Böhmermann!
Meißen (Saxony) - A beekeeper from Saxony takes on TV satirist Jan Böhmermann (42, ZDF). His show featured a video of beekeeper Rico Heinzig (46) explaining his bee app - and totally slated it. Now the bee lover is turning the tables, using Böhmermann's invective and his popularity to advertise.
Rico Heinzig owns 200 bee colonies in Dresden's Elbe Valley, offers his own organic honey and, with his Meissen start-up "MyHoney", offers bee sponsorships for hotels and private individuals, for example.
Heinzig: "I'm not a fan of Böhmermann and his fee-financed post-mortem. Customers informed me that he cheekily stole my video from the internet and made fun of me in his show."
Böhmermann used the Saxon as an example of a man who does business by sponsoring honey bees. Yet it is not these farmed bees that are threatened with extinction, but only wild bees.
And created - derived from "greenwashing" (refers to freeloaders who cash in on the eco-wave) - the artificial word "beewashing" (a spoof on bees) for sponsorship beekeepers like the Saxon.
Heinzig: "At first I swallowed and wanted to sue. But then I realized that the joker Böhmermann would probably be most annoyed if I turned the tables on him."
So now he bottles his revenge honey from his own Göhrischgut estate near Meissen as "beewashing honey" on the label. He also had advertising displays made for supermarkets, on which Jan Böhmermann presents his honey as a "leading bee and beetle expert".
And the "Böhmermann" honey is already doing very well online. "There are orders every day. I hear on the phone that even fans of the TV face are among them."
"A good patent attorney approved everything. Because I respond to Böhmermann's nonsense with counter-satire, so to speak," explains Heinzig.
- Apart from Dresden regional news, Rico Heinzig's bee business is also gaining attention in Leipzig regional news due to his conflict with satirist Jan Böhmermann.
- Despite satirizing Rico Heinzig on his show, Jan Böhmermann's popularity is being utilized by the beekeeper to promote his "beewashing honey."
- Helfricht Juergen, a journalist covering Chemnitz regional news, interviewed Heinzig about his revenge against Böhmermann and his successful honey sales under the "beewashing" label.
- In a twist of events, Beekeepers across Leipzig, Dresden, and Chemnitz regions are also interested in the organic "Böhmermann" honey, inspired by the satirist's portrayal as a "leading bee and beetle expert" on advertising displays.
