PubAid, the UK’s independent voice for pubs, has unveiled a new Christmas TV advert championing the industry’s vital contribution to community sport.
Loosely inspired by the classic 1973 Hovis commercial which saw a lone boy push his delivery bike around a Yorkshire town, the new ad is titled ‘The Pub Run’, and follows publican Justine Lorriman, of The Royal Dyche in Burnley, as she runs through her town, gradually joined by the many sports teams her pub supports.
The advert is driven by a poem-based script that threads the story together and ends: “Some gifts, like the pub, you just cannot wrap.”
The film sits at the heart of PubAid’s recently launched Pub Powers Sport campaign, supported by Guinness and Sky Business, and is attracting thousands of views online.
PubAid co-founder Des O’Flanagan said: “This advert is our heartfelt tribute to publicans everywhere and a reminder of the vital role pubs play in powering local sport, connection and wellbeing.
“The message is clear – pubs power 6.7 million sports sessions every year. Without pubs, we’d lose that.”
The soundtrack – Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 – has been reimagined by Stevensonics, a music production team that has worked with artists such as Rick Astley, ABC, Go West, Tony Hadley, Bros and Jane McDonald, and the voiceover is provided by Lee Row of Radio Burnley.
The project was made possible thanks to PubAid’s supporters, including Guinness, Sky Business, Greene King, Zonal, Budweiser Brewing Group and Star Pubs & Bars.
The advert builds on last month’s Pub Powers Sport report, which revealed that British pubs contribute over £40 million a year to grassroots sport, helping keep 1.67 million people active.
Despite ongoing challenges in the sector, support for community sport has remained consistent since 2019, underlining pubs’ role as an essential, and often unseen, force in the nation’s physical and mental wellbeing.
