Budget 'love is a gift' Christmas ad goes viral
An emotional Christmas advert produced for a grand total of £50 has won over the hearts of the internet, with many quipping that it could teach John Lewis a thing or two in how to communicate with the public.
Eschewing big-budget glitz and glamour, the down to earth parable depicts a man patiently scoring off the days to Christmas as he waits for the opportunity to open a gift from his nearest and dearest.
When the big day arrives it becomes clear that the present in question is a box of Sony Walkman cassette tapes full of recordings left to the man by his late mother to listen to on Christmas day.
Listening intently to the emotional voice from the past the man hears: “Merry Christmas poppet. Another year has passed. I wanted to start this one by saying something I haven't said yet, which is thank you. Thank you for taking the time to remember me."
As the words fade a tear can be seen rolling down the man’s face as it becomes clear that this message is the last to have been recorded.
Dubbed Love is a Gift, the short was made by filmmaker Phil Beastall in 2014 but remained unpublicised until John Lewis released its Sir Elton John vehicle, The Boy and the Piano. Beastall then unleashed his work on the internet, garnering six million Facebook views for his troubles.
He said: “You don't always need a huge budget, just an impactful narrative that gets the message across.
"I think there's a bit of a revolution going on in the advertising industry.
"People no longer want to be overtly sold something which makes our job as video producers a lot harder because we have to sell indirectly."
Beastall's effort is a lavish affair in comparison with Poundland however, which spared every expense with its own Christmas message produced for a paltry £25.53.