Tear-jerker Christmas ad for Irish pub praised as ‘better than John Lewis’

Fiona Frawley

John Lewis who?

Every year around mid-November, the Christmas ads begin their descent onto the airwaves, ready to tug at the heartstrings and incite a healthy dose of festive spirit.

For the past decade or so, emotive Christmas ads have been a UK department store’s game – but in recent years the likes of Super Valu, Dunnes and Woodies have been coming through with their own tear-jerking tales of injured reindeers and community spirit to even the playing field.

This year though, a new festive trailer from a small business has easily trumped rivalling offerings from retail giants, with simpler production values but all the emotion and more.

The ad in question comes from Charlie’s Bar in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, and has left viewers in tears after being shared to social media earlier this week.

The ad follows an elderly man visiting the grave of a loved one, then making his way through Enniskillen looking for social interaction. He encounters some friendly faces by the fire at Charlie’s, and as you’d expect from any Christmas ad, there is of course a friendly dog in the mix to ensure you’re reduced to a puddle of tears.

The pub captioned the video: “Christmas can be such a joyful time for some and painfully hard for others. One things for sure – you’ll always receive a warm welcome when you walk through our doors”.

The pub added that they’ll be open on Christmas Day, “so if you are alone this festive season, drop in for a chat.”

The Christmas ad has quickly gone viral, having amassed over 500,000 views on Instagram, just one day after release, with viewers taking to the comments section to praise the advert’s tearjerking content.

“Me who is absolutely not a crier definitely cried at this. The elderly are my absolute soft spot. Christmas is a really hard day for many, it’s important to check in on those who are alone. Especially if they had a bereavement this year,” one person wrote.

Another added “Wow, this hit a nerve! Have such a soft spot for older people and it makes me so sad to think of them in their own, this world is so busy and all the ways they had the daily chats are dwindling, the local pub may be the last bastion where company could be found! Great job, beautiful piece.”

Header image via Instagram/charliesbarenniskillen

– 12 Irish online vintage stores to shop with this festive season

– The 38 best Asian restaurants in Ireland have been revealed