A vintage advertisement with a young boy and a guard went viral.
In the 1997 video, a young youngster approaches a Marine guard and inquires as to whether or not he is Santa Claus. The lad looks up at the guard, but he ignores him, never meeting his gaze. The young lad then takes out his Christmas list, hoping the guard will give him something. Quite shockingly, the guard reaches out to grasp the boy’s list with his left hand.
The moving ad serves as a promotional tool for the Toys For Tots initiative run by the Marine Corps Reserve.
According to NX2, the initiative was started in 1947 and gathers “new, unwrapped toys during October, November, and December each year” to give to underprivileged kids.
Image courtesy of NX2
In order to help less disadvantaged children become responsible, productive, and patriotic citizens, the mission is to deliver “a message of hope.”
One viewer commented, “One of the few Christmas commercials I actually like.”
