A NEW tug at the heartstrings Christmas video produced by a Cleckheaton company has gone viral with millions and millions of Facebook and TikTok views in a single day.
The video, produced by Sam Teale Productions, based in Cleckheaton, depicts the struggles of a single father raising his young son following the loss of his wife.
The video, marketed as an alternative John Lewis advert, deals with very real-life issues for people struggling to cope with the cost-of-living, including going hungry, turning down heating and having to go without presents at Christmas.
A moving moment in the video sees the boy tell his barber that "Santa is poorly this year".
The father's grief at the loss of a loved one and the sadness of trying to provide for his son is movingly captured by a small team at Sam Teale Productions as the video concludes with a special moment that captures the true meaning of Christmas.
Sam Teale, owner of Sam Teale Productions, explained: "We knew it was special, but it's just been a madhouse with over six million views on Facebook and 24 million on TikTok already, which is crazy. We only uploaded it at 8am yesterday.
"We’re a small production company. I'm only 20 now, I started the business when I was 16, and every single year we do a Christmas video.
"A lot of the locations are filmed where I grew up," said Sam, who lives in Norristhorpe.
"The scene where the little boy says 'Santa is poorly this year' is inspired by a conversation I had with a friend who works as a dentist."
In the video, the boy writes a letter to Santa in class and wishes him to "get well", a scene that was filmed at Norristhorpe Junior and Infant School.
The barbershop scene is filmed at Boris and Co in Mirfield and Sam said the graveyard used for the filming is “where my granddad is buried”.
"Our young team who made the video are from the area - there's Ellie Connell, 21, Sam Brearley, 18, Jack Green, 21, and myself.
Most of the actors are from Yorkshire or the North and the “extras” Sam said are simply “real-life” people who live in the area.
Sam said the video “hits you hard” but he added it has been very well received.
“People appreciate the video’s message. Some people have commented about someone that they’ve lost this year and others have also talked about how Christmas is not about the money but about spending time with loved ones.
"There's no better feeling than making a bit of magic. That's the power of video.”
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