A Christmas ad featuring a lonely old man in a pub has left viewers "bawling" with many saying it's "better than John Lewis".
The Christmas ad for Charlie's Bar in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh has since gone viral after gaining over 550k views on TikTok and millions of views on X (formerly Twitter). The heart-wrenching two-minute clip shows an elderly man bringing a bunch of flowers to a grave, as he stands looking heartbroken at the graveside remembering his lost loved ones.
The man then takes a walk through the town, tipping his cap to people passing by - but they walk on, too engrossed in their conversation or pretending not to notice him. The man arrives at Charlie's Bar on Church Street at the same time as a young couple with a little dog and they all go inside for a pint.
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As he sits down by the fire to drink his Guinness alone, the little dog comes over to greet him, prompting the young couple to join him at his table. They "cheers" to their new friendship and the clip ends with the quote: "There are no strangers here, only friends you haven’t yet met".
Posting the advert on their Facebook page, Charlie's Bar wrote: "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. We will be open on Christmas Day, so if you are alone this festive season, drop in for a chat."
People were moved by the heart-warming video and headed to the comments to share their thoughts, with some saying it perfectly captured the true spirit of the festive season. One person re-shared the video on social media, writing: "This Christmas ad for a pub in Enniskillen is better than anything John Lewis has ever put out."
The official TikTok account of John Lewis then dropped a comment on the video, saying: "We’re not crying, you are. Merry Christmas."
Another person said: "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'."
A third commented: "Could be any Irish pub. Heart of the community for so many rural Irish communities. Pop in grab any stool and have a chat and the craic for the next couple of hours. Long may it continue."
Another local from Enniskillen said: "In Charlie’s bar this would actually happen. It’s such a friendly bar where anyone would chat away to you."
Meanwhile, others claimed they were caught unawares by watching the sentimental video. One person joked: "Balling at 9am on a Saturday morning wasn't my plan."
Another said: "I didn't intend on crying tonight.....I've just applied tan!! I always try to smile at people I meet, for that might be the only interaction they have that day and this can be such a lonely time of year. Brilliant video and [powerful] good message."
A third said: "Made me cry couldn’t stop in fact after watching it, it’s a sentimental time of year always think of my mum and miss her so much."
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