This Irish Pub Created One Of The Best Christmas Ads Ever With An iPhone And £700, It Received Over 15 Million Views
A budget Christmas ad by a family-run bar in Northern Ireland went super viral, leaving the internet teary-eyed and the owners overwhelmed with the response.
Charlie’s Bar in Enniskillen released a 2-minute film that follows the day of an elderly gentleman walking through town alone after visiting a graveside with a bunch of flowers. He greets several people along the way, but gets ignored.
The gentleman then enters Charlie’s Bar and sits alone with a pint of Guinness. A four-legged friend comes along and happily joins him, prompting others to follow suit. The ad ends with the gentleman enjoying drinks with his new friends, followed by a famous quote by W.B. Yeats, “There are no strangers here, Only friends you haven’t yet met.”
The ad was shot on an iPhone with a budget of £700 and stars 73-year-old Martin McManus, a member of an amateur theatre group. The song in the background is “People Help The People” by English singer Birdy.
The spot blew up on TikTok, X (Twitter), Instagram, and other social media platforms, with people praising it as one of the most heartfelt and memorable Christmas ads they had ever seen. Some even declared it the best Christmas ad of all time. Watch below.
This Christmas ad for a pub in Enniskillen is better than anything John Lewis has ever put out pic.twitter.com/GFlkhDgyuj
In an interview with GB News, Una Burns, manager of Charlie’s Bar, and video producer Aoife Teague said they were “absolutely blown away by the response.” Burns described the reaction as beyond her “wildest dreams” in a conversation with Sky News.
GB News Interview
‘We’re absolutely blown away by the response.’
The creators of the viral Charlie’s Bar Christmas advert say they created the video to raise awareness of loneliness during the holidays.
Netizens also pointed out the success of the ad in relation with its marketing budget, compared to Christmas campaigns by big brands that have not achieved this level of popularity.
Reactions
This is wonderful. We will all be like this gentleman one day. Always take time to speak to a lonely person. Xx
It succeeded where John Lewis has always failed, not only did it bring a tear to my eye it had a simple but important heartwarming message.
Very well done 👏🏻
Very moving I think, @marksandspencer could learn a thing or two from this, their advert is crap. (imo of course.)
“No strangers here, only friends you haven’t met yet.” #WBYeats#CharliesBarEnniskillin
Superb 🥰
I hope this makes people think. Some haven’t got family around, some have lost people close to them and maybe need a stranger just to chat with. It’ costs nothing to smile, or ask how they are, so please, don’t avoid, just be kind and thoughtful. That’s all I ask.
— Steve E. Baber. PmD.BSc.Aerospace & Mechanical Eng (@SpitfireSteve) November 25, 2023
Far far better than all the nonsense that assumes everyone has a huge family, bank account and social circle who meet up to eat vast amounts of food, play board games and pretend to embrace the nonsensical ‘magic of christmas’.
— Linda@SeaSugar Confectionery #propersweets🍬 (@seasugarsweets) November 25, 2023
I was nearly in tears looking at that. Brilliant ad. Charlie’s in Enniskillen. I’ll be going there for a pint.
What do you think? Seen a better Christmas ad recently, especially one created on such a modest budget? Share this post with a friend and voice your views in the comments below.
