Forget the John Lewis Christmas advert; this tear-jerker is already going viral with almost 50,000 views online and rising
Piano shop owner Mark Goodwin may have just made the most heart-warming Christmas advert of 2019… on a budget of £10.
With the help of his two children – Sally, 8, and Louis, 5 – and his father, the team spent two cold nights in Oldham filming the perfect Christmas advert.
The video portrays Sally and Louis delivering a new piano from Mark’s shop to an older gentleman – portrayed by Mark’s father. Once delivered, he shows the two children a picture of him and his wife, and points out that she has sadly passed away.
And so, Sally and Louis run back to the piano shop and return with an extra gift for him…
A dual piano stool.
Sally gleefully sits beside him as they duet together, whilst the picture of him and his wife perches nearby. Watch the full video for yourself below.
How did they manage to complete the filming on a budget of £10?
“We bought them sweets and snacks and a special Santa hat each which took the total film budget to well under £10,” explains Mark. “I did consider hiring a local actor to play the part of a sad elderly gentleman in the video, but in the end, I twisted my Dad’s arm and he did a wonderful job!”
Mark continues, “We were filming from 8-11pm for 2 nights in a row, so the children were exhausted at the end of each day. But they are both home-educated so thankfully we could give them long lie-ins in the mornings.”
The budget is in stark contrast to those of the multi-million-pound television adverts such as John Lewis and Sky. It is perhaps a timely reminder that bonds and relationships trump money any day.
“I tried to get across the message in the video that when you run a small business you can’t afford to only chase sales and profit, you have to put just as much energy into treating each customer like a friend and being ready to support them with whatever issues they present you with.”
Excuse us, we have something in our eye.