Big time Charlie’s
Pub’s moving low-budget ad bags TV spot
BY
THE low-budget Christmas ad for a Fermanagh pub that went viral online reached a mass audience by landing a prime spot just before the UTV news.
A social media video for Charlie’s Bar in Enniskillen, shot for €817 and launched on Instagram, has racked up millions of views and won fans worldwide.
The heart-warming advert highlights loneliness at Christmas with an elderly man finding companionship in the pub with a dog and its owners who join him for a drink.
It reached even more viewers when ITV broadcast it on UTV on Friday night – to the delight of Charlie’s Bar manager Una Burns who was the brains behind the video. She said: “We are completely delighted, it’s just a dream come true for us, and we are blown away by the reaction. To have this aired on UTV alongside massive everyday brands is surreal. “Hopefully this will help keep the conversation going about loneliness and the importance of friendship.” Content creator Aoife Teague, who made the ad for the bar, said: “I am completely overwhelmed by the response. The video took three hours to film and around 20 hours to edit. I have IDEA Bar boss Una had people from all over the world in Canada, America, and Australia reach out to me with messages of kindness, how touched they were, how it resonated, some simply sending good wishes.
“Christmas can be a magical time for many, yet we often forget that it can be an extremely difficult time for others. It was important that this video shed light on those who may struggle during the festive season and to remind them that they are not alone.”
Star of the ad Martin Mcmanus, 74, said he was blown away by the response.
He said: “I live on my own and I feel lonely at times – you do when you get old.
“But I don’t feel lonely today. It’s been very nice.”