Charlie's Bar's €800 iPhone Christmas ad goes viral with 3M views
Charlie's Bar, a family-run pub in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, posted an amateur video on Facebook in late November 2023 to announce it would be open on Christmas Day. The ad, shot on an iPhone by amateur filmmaker Aoife Teague for just €800, has amassed over 3 million views, surprising the pub's owners. The video shows an elderly man buying flowers and walking to the cemetery, ignored by passersby, until a couple with a poodle leads him to Charlie's Bar, where the dog prompts a friendly chat. It ends with a quote from Irish poet William Butler Yeats: "There are no strangers here, only friends you haven't yet met." The soundtrack is Birdy's 2011 cover of "People Help the People" by Cherry Ghost. The pub's Facebook page expressed shock and gratitude. The ad's success echoes that of Hafod Hardware in Rhayader, Wales, whose £100 Christmas ad in 2019 went viral. Charlie's Bar, founded in 1944, is described as "the oldest family-run bar in Enniskillen."
Key facts
- Charlie's Bar posted an amateur Christmas ad on Facebook in late November 2023.
- The ad was shot on an iPhone by amateur filmmaker Aoife Teague.
- The budget was only €800.
- The video has received over 3 million views.
- The ad features an elderly man who ends up chatting with a couple and their poodle at the pub.
- The video ends with a quote by Irish poet William Butler Yeats.
- The soundtrack is Birdy's cover of 'People Help the People'.
- Charlie's Bar was founded in 1944 and is the oldest family-run bar in Enniskillen.
Entities
Artists
- William Butler Yeats
- Birdy
- Cherry Ghost
- Aoife Teague
Institutions
- Charlie's Bar
- Hafod Hardware
Locations
- Enniskillen
- Northern Ireland
- Rhayader
- Wales