The owner of an independent hardware store in Wales has told how “overwhelmed” he is after the Christmas ad starring his young son has gone viral.
The ad for Hafod Hardware in Rhayader, Powys, cost just £100 to produce – and has been melting hearts around the world ever since it was released earlier this week.
Encouraging viewers to “be a kid this Christmas,” the ad begins with two-year-old Arthur, the son of the owner, heading along to the shop to set up for the holidays.
He is seen helping some of the customers (including wrapping gifts), sweeping up the store, setting up the decorations and reading to his stuffed toys.
It end with him heading outside to pick up the Christmas tree, before he turned into his dad – who brings the tree home for the holidays.
The ad has been viewed more than 450,000 times (and counting) since it was released on December 1.
“It has been crazy… we’ve been overwhelmed with nice emails and messages from all over the world,” Tom Jones, the owner of the store, told the BBC.
He added that he was hoping to encourage people to shop at small, independent shops in the lead up to the holiday season.
“[The ad] did cost £100 to make and most of that was the cost of the music. You really see him [Arthur] developing every year from the baby to the little boy he is today. The story this year is, Christmas isn’t just for kids, [you] can all just be a kid at Christmas,” he continued.
