Wigan sweet maker aims to make people smile with appeal for comedy song videos

The borough's much-loved sweet brand Uncle Joe's Mint Balls has come up with a new campaign to keep people all aglow during the coronavirus pandemic.
The William Santus and Co factoryThe William Santus and Co factory
The William Santus and Co factory

William Santus and Co, the company behind the popular treats, has launched Make Life Sweeter to lift the mood and bring some fun to life under lockdown.

It is asking for people to post their own versions of the Uncle Joe's Mint Balls song made famous by the likes of Mike Harding and The Houghton Weavers.

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The firm is promising prizes for the most rib-tickling productions.

The Houghton WeaversThe Houghton Weavers
The Houghton Weavers

The Houghton Weavers themselves got the ball rolling for the appeal by releasing a new version of the song on their Facebook page which quickly gained hundreds of views.

Wigan ukulele group Chonkinfeckle have also done a performance of the track.

Joint managing directors Antony Winnard and John Winnard MBE, the great, great nephews of the company’s founder, William Santus, said that Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls had helped keep a smile on the face of the nation through two world wars and countless other hard times.

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Antony said: “This is a very challenging period for everyone in this country but the bulldog spirit which makes this nation what it is was built around never giving in, and trying to look on the bright side, laughing not crying.”

John added: “There is so much bad news around at the moment but we want to encourage everyone to try and be positive. Every bag of sweets we make has a smiling face on it, courtesy of our logo, and, now, more than ever, the country needs a reason to smile.”

Steve Millington from The Houghton Weavers said: "The Uncle Joe’s song is still a strong favourite of our audiences at all our concerts and very regularly requested.

“In these difficult and testing times we just want to help to spread a little happiness and fun with our Facebook video and we are very proud to back this idea.

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“The Houghton Weavers motto is to "Keep Folk Smiling" and we aim to continue this through the dreadful crisis. Please stay safe."

Uncle Joe’s is also encouraging people to do things to put a smile back on people’s faces.

The company has been donating jars of its mint balls to local good causes - and it is asking people to suggest other fun ways to get people smiling again.

People can join in the Make Life Sweeter appeal by liking the Uncle Joe’s Facebook page and then uploading their own video version of the song to their own Facebook page, tagging in @UncleJoes1898 and marking the post Public in their settings.

Posts on Twitter should contain the hashtags #makelifesweeter and #keepfolksmiling.

The full song lyrics and music for the song is at www.uncle-joes.com/our-song

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