Meet the creator of viral pub Christmas ad that she filmed on a 'scraped and bruised' phone
Aoife Teague is the 23-year-old who filmed and edited the viral Charlie's Bar video
"My phone's a wee bit scraped and bruised but the camera works," admits 23-year-old Aoife Teague, the content creator and editor of the Charlie's Bar Christmas video that has gone viral. The family-owned business, based in Enniskillen, has been inundated with calls from around the world, with some calling it 'better than John Lewis'.
"I honestly can't believe it," Aoife, also from Enniskillen, tells us. "It's hard to take in. We've had people from the US, Canada even Germany get in touch about it."
The bar based in Co Fermanagh, unveiled its festive advert on Friday which shows an elderly man with a sad expression walking through town alone and visiting a grave. When he enters a bar, he's joined by a couple who sit, drink and talk with him.
Una Burns, the bar's manager and daughter of Charlie told the PA agency that they wanted to provide a Christmas advert that would hopefully "resonate with people".
Aoife, who recently went freelance from her job in marketing, said she'd done a St Patrick's Day video for Charlie's Bar and Una asked her back again. They brainstormed ideas together and she describes it as a collective effort.
"Una had noticed that it can often be a lonely time for people coming into the pub on their own. It's not always a season that's enjoyable if you don't have family or friends," Aoife explains.
"We storyboarded the whole video on paper, of how we wanted it to look, and the message we wanted to get across. Then a week later, we filmed it on my iPhone. It took us three hours."
And what of the main star?
"I met Martin McManus about ten minutes before I started bossing him around that morning," laughs Aoife.
"Martin is a local man who has an acting background in local plays. He really understood our concept immediately. He's blown away by the response. He's received praise in the past for his work, but not to this level, not having his face shown around the world!"
As for why this particular advert went viral, Aoife believes they capture a moment that many can relate to.
"What we really wanted to get across was that Christmas is a magical time of year but it also magnifies loss so it can be an emotional time. We portrayed a message of kindness and hopefully everyone watching it can relate to being each character in the video at some stage."
Aoife, who is just 23, studied communications management and PR at the University of Ulster in Belfast. She wants people to remember that this season is also about kindness and togetherness.
"In the world we live in, it's easy to forget how important those little gestures can be. I hope Charlie's Bar video helps us all look out for one another a little more. Remember, a wee chat goes a long way."
