Celtic Football Club brings on the magic to 'Light Up Someone's Christmas'

Christmas and other holiday commercials are a looked-for and much-discussed fixture on the annual output, but ads from specific football clubs are not so prevalent as those put out by, for example, supermarkets. That seems to be changing: Scottish Premiership club Celtic has been running Christmas ads for a few years now, and in this year's edition, Kyogo, Callum McGregor, Alistair Johnston, Luis Palma and Reo Hatate all appear, as does women's captain Kelly Clark. Brendan Rodgers, the manager, also makes an appearance and does the voice towards at the end. The footage closes with a cheeky reference to him too, as someone in the shop blows the dust off his book: Rodgers has re-joined Celtic after leaving mid-season to manage Leicester, which was not well received at the time. The team says: "Celtic has always been a club that values community, and this Christmas, through our continued commitment to Celtic FC Foundation’s Christmas Appeal, we’re showcasing the true spirit of the season and supporting the incredible work carried out by the club’s charitable arm, year after year." Celtic was established in the late 19th century by immigrant Irish Brother Walfrid of the Marist Brotherhood. He and others fleeing deprivation in their homeland by sailing to Glasgow soon found that hardship also prevailed in the Scottish city. Feeding the poor was a problem with a relatively straightforward answer, explains the Celtic website – a charity drive. Brother Walfrid's idea to raise money was to enter the embryonic world of football by forming a Club that would attract paying customers. On November 6, 1887, Brother Walfrid, along with the Club’s other Founding Fathers, formally constituted Celtic Football Club at St Mary´s Church Hall in Abercromby Street. The Club name - Celtic - was designed to be meaningful to both Scots and Irish, emphasising a bridge of cultures across the Irish Sea. In this cheering campaign, we see Kyogo Furuhashi - a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Celtic and also plays for the Japan national team - spreading a little magic to help out those around him including teammates and unsung heroes across the football club and Foundation. "While Celtic supporters around the world prepare to celebrate, we recognise that this continues to be a difficult time for many around the world, including families in our local communities," says the FC. " We hope the latest Celtic Christmas film will bring a smile to faces of Celtic fans everywhere as the Club and Celtic FC Foundation come together again to ‘Light Up Someone’s Christmas’." What do you think? A refreshing reminder of real sporting and community values in the increasingly lucrative business of football?

Keywords: Celtic FC 'Light Up Someone's Christmas', Christmas ads 2023, Scottish football, Celtic Foundation, football Christmas ads, Celtic Christmas film 2023, Celtic TV, Maguires agency