If you can count on anything during the holidays, it's advertisements that take aim at your heart -- and this one hits the bullseye.
The spot from UPS highlights the bond between a 4-year-old boy named Carson and UPS driver Ernest Lagasca, who Carson calls "Mr. Ernie."
"When Carson was born he couldn't drink milk or anything with a milk protein in it, so they sent formula," the boy's mom, Karen Kight, told KRDO. "Mr. Ernie would deliver quite a few times to our house."
Carson loves Mr. Ernie and his truck so much that he has a UPS uniform of his own and dreams of being a UPS driver. And when Mr. Ernie comes to the door in the ad, Carson practically leaps into his arms.
"I could come here three times in week and I'd get the same reaction every single time, all that excitement," Lagasca says in the spot.
But in the commercial, Lagasca isn't bringing an ordinary package. As part of the UPS Your Wishes Delivered campaign, he's delivering a child-sized UPS truck to help make Carson's dream come true.
"When I drove up, that moment was just amazing," Lagasca told Fox21 News.
Armed with a crayon map, Carson proceeds to drive around the neighborhood, delivering boxes of cookies and such.
Carson's mother wrote on the UPS Facebook page:
"THANK YOU! UPS... for making MY Baby's wish happen with one of the GREATEST role models yet of his little life...MR ERNIE...it's the little things, the small acts of kindness from the heart, that make the most impression...no matter what Carson chooses to do in life, he will ALWAYS remember the little things and the special people that mattered most..."
"There's a lot of neat people," Lagasca says in the clip. "But nobody stands out like Carson does. He's really special."
Alas, Lagasca is no longer Carson's driver. In an update on the Facebook page, Kight wrote that the 26-year UPS veteran is on a "retirement route" now.
"As much as Carson and I would love to see Mr Ernie back on our route, he is on a "retirement route"... We could never ask him to do that...but we do stay in contact...Carson's big brother goes to school with Mr. Ernie's son...and he called Carson to tell him what a good job he is doing with the interviews! Our new UPS drivers continue to enjoy Carson's enthusiasm but Mr. Ernie can never be "replaced"...his shoes are just too BIG to fill!!"
As part of its campaign, UPS is donating $1 to charity for each wish shared on its website or via social media. Learn more here.