An amateur Christmas advertisement, created by filmmaker Sam Clegg for under £100, is garnering significant attention and praise from viewers who are calling it the 'best Christmas ad in years.' The clip, shared on YouTube, has already garnered over 134,000 views.
The advert tells the story of a lonely elderly woman who, after receiving food from a squirrel, visits a graveyard. Viewers then learn she is the daughter from an earlier scene, where her parents gifted her a teddy bear on Christmas Day in 1957. The film fast-forwards to show her tripping on ice and having no one to help her, unlike in her childhood. Returning home, she places a kiss on the teddy bear, which she has kept. Five years later, the teddy bear is seen in a charity shop window, where it is admired by a father and son. The ad concludes with the message, "We never outgrow the need to be loved. This Christmas, help someone feel less alone. While they're still here." It also highlights that an estimated 1.8 million UK adults expected to spend Christmas Day alone last year.
Clegg, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, has been creating amateur films for charities since 2024. His previous advert, 'Robin,' which depicted a lonely elderly man helping an injured bird, also resonated with over a million viewers.
This year's clip features Clegg's charity single, "The Present," released on November 1. All proceeds from the single will support the charities Re-engage and Friends of the Elderly, which aim to combat loneliness among older people.
The release of Clegg's advert coincides with the launch of John Lewis's own Christmas commercial, "Gloria and Pickles." This year's John Lewis advert stars Dame Kristin Scott Thomas as a grandmother seeking the perfect gift for her grandchildren. The ad follows Gloria's last-minute shopping spree, culminating in a visit to John Lewis, where she finds inspiration to create a "Gran Cave" for her grandchildren. The soundtrack features Sam Fender's cover of The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want."