This is the most heartbreaking Christmas ad yet; and it could be any of us

What’s with all the Christmas ads that make us cry? Truth is, Christmas is, for many, a pretty heartbreaking time.

British department store John Lewis highlighted this with its Man on the Moon campaign, in which an elderly man sits on the moon, alone until a little girl finds a way to reach him.

The message is to remember those who are isolated this Christmas, and reach out to them (with expensive gifts, but… it’s the thought that counts, right?).

This ad by a German supermarket takes John Lewis’ hand and raises it. The grandfather in this story is left alone by his busy, busy offspring and does something extreme to get them all together for Christmas.

The ad is in German but has English subtitles; and the soundtrack is also in English. Listen to the lyrics of the song as you watch the clip, they are part of the story too:

There goes a day, there goes a week, so many goals I had to reach, 

The more I did the less I cared

The more I missed the love you’ve shared

According to Lifeline, Christmas day is the suicide prevention service’s single busiest day of the year.

“That’s a sad but true fact,” Fiona Kalaf, Lifeline chief executive told the ABC.

“It is a challenging time of year for us but it is fundamentally what we exist for.

“We are a line there for people who are contemplating suicide or in a form of emotional crisis.

“We do encourage them to reach out and have a chat with us. We also encourage people have a friend or family member who may be at risk to give us call.

“It’s hard to encourage people to seek help, and we can help them to figure out how to broach the subject.”

Social isolation is very real, and we know that there are members of our community, their parents or people they know and love in this situation.

This Christmas, we urge you to bridge the gap, somehow, anyhow. If you are alone, put your hand up now, if you know someone who will be alone, reach out and take their hand.

Let’s fight isolation and loneliness this Christmas. Share your stories and experiences, and be sure to pass this message on.