A Christmas advert created by a family-run bar in Northern Ireland has gone viral on social media.
Charlie’s Bar in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, unveiled its festive advert on Friday, which shows a forlorn elderly man walking alone through the town centre after placing flowers on a grave.
After being ignored by several people, he enters the bar and is joined by a couple and their curious dog, who stay and drink with him.
The song People Help The People by British singer-songwriter Birdy accompanies the advert.
It ends with the quote: “There are no strangers here, only friends you haven’t met yet.”
The advert has racked up more than six million views on X (formerly Twitter) and over 60,000 likes on TikTok after being posted online.
It even sparked reaction from John Lewis, which has become synonymous for creating tear-jerking festive adverts.
“We’re not crying, you are. Merry Christmas,” the department store’s official TikTok account wrote underneath the video.
Others even claimed it is better than the store’s efforts this year, which features a giant festive Venus flytrap called Snapper as Andrea Bocelli’s song Festa plays.
Lisa McGee, the creator of teen sitcom Derry Girls, also praised the Northern Irish bar – while Catherine Nelson, a Sinn Fein councillor, said: “Oh my goodness me – I am a blubbing mess.”
Una Burns, the manager of Charlie’s Bar, said they wanted to create an advert that would “resonate with people”.
When asked how she feels about the video going viral, she added: “I feel completely overwhelmed, to be honest.
“People have been comparing it to the John Lewis advert, which we could have never expected – that’s brilliant.
“We’re just a small, local pub and we just wanted to provide a Christmas advert that hopefully resonated with people and for us, it became apparent over the years that Christmas can be a really lonely, tough time for some people.
“We see that more than others as on Christmas morning – when we’re open – there are some people coming in with maybe nowhere else to be and need people to speak to.”
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Ms Burns explained that her father is the current owner of Charlie’s Bar, having taken over from her grandad. She described it as “more than just a business” but “part of our family”.
Having become such a huge success, she said the bar’s festive advert might become an annual occurrence.
