A tiny hardware shop proved you don’t need a multi-million pound budget to create an emotional Christmas commercial, pulling their masterpiece off for a bargain £6.99.
Hafod Hardware in Rhayader, Wales, challenged the likes of John Lewis and M&S with a brilliant festive ad that was created in just one day.
Tom Jones and film-maker friend Josh Holdaway filmed, edited and published the two-minute masterpiece, which features locals instead of professional actors.
Mr Jones, who runs the family business in the Powys market town with grandparents Alan and Pauline Lewis, says the tiny budget was blown on the sack he is seen pulling presents from in the advert.
‘We wanted to show everyone that you don’t need John Lewis’ budget of £7million to create something special,’ the 28-year-old said. ‘We made this for £7… well £6.99 for a red sack.’
Tom Jones is seen riding through his hometown in the video, delivering presents to his neighbours from a £6.99 red sack
He rides through Rhayader on a vintage Honda motorbike with an open-faced helmet and goggles in the video, taking in the stunning Elan Valley on Christmas Eve with a red sack on his back.
The clip shows him delivering a sackful of presents to grateful residents, including one chap dressed in just his bath towel.
In a nod to the famous Two Ronnies hardware store comedy sketch, Mr Jones also drops off four candles to a local church.
The 28-year-old hands a kettle to a man who answers the door to him wearing just a towel
As night approaches, he heads home and, exhausted, falls asleep at the dining room table before he can finish wrapping gifts for his family.
But the Christmas magic means when he wakes up they have all been wrapped and put under the tree just in time for his 10-month son Arthur to appear.
The cute tot is see in the video’s tearful final scene sitting on his dad’s knee to open a present on Christmas morning.
Mr Jones runs the family business in Powys with his grandparents and says he wanted to offer a seasonal message without spending millions
It ends with the strap line – Haford Hardware – delivering magic, this Christmas.
The advert features a cover of Bing Crosby’s 1943 hit ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’, performed by young American singer-songwriter Andrea von Kampen, which Mr Jones asked permission to use after hearing it online.
‘The song is absolutely perfect for what I wanted,’ he said.
‘I heard it on YouTube and asked Andrea if I could have permission to use her song and thankfully she said yes.
‘We wanted to get a lovely seasonal message across.
‘It’s good publicity for our shop, but we also wanted to show a bit of Rhayader and the Elan Valley. It really is a beautiful part of the world and Rhayader is a great community.
‘We’re hoping it puts our little town on the map this Christmas, as so many Welsh villages get left behind these days.’
Mr Jones, whose wife Laura helped him with the filming, said the advert was made all the more special by the impending departure of Mr Holdaway.
‘I love Christmas adverts, they really do make you feel like a big kid,’ he said.
‘They’ve snowballed over the past few years. The likes of John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, Tesco spend huge amounts of money to make the perfect advert.
Mr Jones rides his vintage Honda motorbike through the town on Christmas Eve, taking in the Elan Valley
‘But we’ve shown that it can be done on a budget. You just need that creative spark and the time and equipment to do it.
‘I’m lucky in that Josh is a very good film-maker. We used to make films together when we were younger, just for a bit of fun.
‘In the last few years, he’s been telling me that we need to make a Christmas advert for the shop.
As night approaches, an exhausted Mr Jones falls asleep before he can finish wrapping presents for his family
‘I’ve been putting if off, but he’s emigrating to Austria soon and so this was the last chance we had. It was now or never – we had to do this Christmas advert.
‘I hope people enjoy it.’
John Lewis spent an estimated £7million on their latest advert and Burberry’s budget for The Tale of Thomas Burberry is rumoured to have been more than £10million.
M&S, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Tesco have also spent millions on their festive commercials.