The Christmas Commercial That’s Winning the Internet

During the Christmas season, we’re inundated by media. There are sales advertised on every available surface, digital or otherwise. There are posters and billboards everywhere we turn. Our mailboxes (email and actual) are filled with fliers and catalogs reminding us of all of the things we must have this holiday season – from toys to gadgets to cashmere sweaters that cost more than our first car. In the midst of this big media push, it’s hard to keep perspective. In other words, it’s hard to keep our focus on what the season is really all about. That’s why this Christmas commercial from a small family-owned hardware store in Rhayader, Wales is sweeping the internet, creating a viral sensation with a message that is exactly what we all need to hear during this time of year.

Haford Hardware is one of the oldest business in the tiny town of Rhayader, Wales, which, according to the company’s website, is the oldest town in Mid-Wales. The Christmas commercial, Haford Harware’s third consecutive Christmastime advert in as many years, was made on a meager budget of only $130 (or about £100 ) – a number that is hard to believe considering the myriad of big-budget Christmas commercials we see on a daily basis. And with more than 1.7 million hits on YouTube and even more on Facebook, it proves that a Christmas commercial doesn’t need to be backed by millions of dollars, rather it only needs to touch people with something special.

In the case of Haford Hardware’s 2019 Christmas commercial, one of the most touching aspects is the talent used to make the video. The star of the commercial is two-year old Arthur Jones, the son of the store owner, Tom Jones and the commercial shows four generations of the Jones family.

But even beyond the simplicity of the budget and the talent used to make the commercial is the beauty of the message, which is simply, “Be a kid this Christmas.” Arthur Jones will capture your heart in this two-minute clip showing a day’s “work” at the family shop. With a soundtrack featuring the hit song, Forever Young, this Christmas commercial will help you remember the joy, beauty, and simplicity of being a kid at Christmas and help remind you that it’s not how much you spend, rather how much you experience during the holiday season.