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.”

Read more:
Christmas dinner favourites at risk
Downing Street Christmas tree gets its star
‘Wonky’ tree compared to Leaning Tower of Pisa

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.

Related posts:

Plastic surgeon turns up for Zoom court hearing while in the middle of operating on a patient US woman finds £2.5m lottery prize in spam folder Ryan Reynolds gifts Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney ‘memorial’ urinal for his birthday Ronaldo’s FIFA rating hits lowest level in 16 years Doctor accused of impregnating his own patients dies in plane crash South Korea uses AI to ‘weigh’ Kim Jong Un Crocodile found to have made herself pregnant Live worm found in woman’s brain Man arrested after trying to run from Florida to London in a makeshift hamster wheel Halloween movie murder house up for sale for $1.8m ‘Cursed’ painting sells for more than £1,600 after twice being returned to charity shop How often do you think about the Roman Empire? Expert has thoughts on the new TikTok trend