A renowned fragrance firm is cashing in on the rise of “incredibly dark” humour after hiring one of Kent’s few remaining tin churches.

Lynx’s latest and arguably boldest advert to date, showcasing its “Power of Fragrance” campaign, was quietly shot inside Hythe’s St Michael’s and All Angels Tin Tabernacle.

The ad features a melancholic and Saltburn-esque take on a somber funeral, where the deceased’s odour sets off an unforeseen chain of events.

In the beginning, allured mourners repeatedly sniff his body, before one guest becomes so frenzied she climbs inside his coffin, and then snatches the body.

A narrator says the words as they appear on the screen: “I fell in love with this dead body because he smelled so good”.

Well-known for its edgy adverts, Lynx received a mixed bag of reaction for its Tin Tabernacle sketch, which was released with another depicting a robbery gone awry.

Responding to the YouTube video shot in Hythe, one user wrote: “So that is why I saw a camera crew outside near where I live and heard people crying frantically and a coffin outside the tin tabernacle church.

Another wrote: “This is incredibly dark from Lynx.

“It implies the lady ran over the guy because he smelt so good and then went to his funeral and stole his body.”

“It's open to multiple interpretations.

“I felt that he died and was still smelling good afterwards which made her snatch his body at the funeral,” another wrote.

The former church is one of Kent’s few remaining ‘Tin Tabs’ – historically a cheap alternative to traditional stone-built holy buildings.

During its opening in September 1893, the Archdeacon of Maidstone dedicated the large corrugated iron structure to St Michael and All Angels.

St Michael’s would remain active as an Anglican church until a final service was in September 2011.

Its congregation was moved across the Royal Military Canal to join the Methodists in their stone-built St Michael’s Methodist-Anglican Church Centre.

To ensure the building’s future, the Tin Tabernacle was granted Grade II listed status, protecting it from future development and allowing it to be used for weddings, events and media opportunities.

Rating Lynx’s latest efforts ‘advert of the day’, national media magazine The Drum, wrote: “The premise of both (adverts) is seemingly straightforward: a funeral and a robbery gone awry, but the tone sets them apart.

“The writing is quick-witted and dry, infused with slightly uncomfortable yet captivating visuals.

“For a deodorant brand, both ads are daring and stand out among a saturated market while still playing into the tried and tested approach that Lynx has taken over the years – that its body spray will increase your attraction level.”

Lynx says its campaign promoting the Blue Lavender collection, taps into “the rising trend of dark humour”, seen on streaming channels such as Netflix.