Ryan Reynolds’ ugly Christmas sweater does the talking in SickKids campaign
Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds is letting his ugly sweater do the talking during this year’s holiday campaign for The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
For the fourth year in a row, the Vancouver-born star is using an “aesthetically challenged” sweater to raise money for the SickKids Foundation.
But this year the actor says little in his campaign video, which has been posted and shared widely on social media.
The video begins with Reynolds wearing the now iconic red and green sweater with a large, gold bow and nametag.
Before he can say much, the viewer hears the voice of Canadian actor Seth Rogan saying “hello” and the image pans down to the bow, which now has an animated mouth.
“Yes I can talk. Use your imagination,” the bow says.
“As a sweater and a fellow Canadian that comes out but once a year I’ve grown a little tired of Ryan’s like self-deprecating, deadpan jokes…Instead, revel in the wonder of a talking sweater as you make a donation to SickKids.”
Each time Reynolds tries to say something, the bow interjects, including when Toronto Maple Leafs player Auston Matthews makes a quick appearance to say hello.
“Please cut to the titles before he makes an obscure pop culture reference,” it says.
The sweater has made appearances in all of Reynold’s holiday SickKids campaigns since he was tricked into wearing it to a party by fellow actors Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal back in 2018.
Photos posted to social media at the time shows Reynolds wearing a green and red sweater with a large, gold bow right in the centre while Jackman and Gyllenhaal—who were wearing normal attire—laugh.
Ryan Reynolds stands between Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal at a holiday party. (Ryan Reynolds / Instagram)
More than $300,000 was raised in just a few weeks in 2021 following the release of an animated video that simulated this holiday prank. The video told the story of a similarly-styled sweater in a store that gets passed over by every customer, except for one man who is looking for an outfit for a party that specified “fun” attire.
The following year, about 5,000 front-line workers received replica t-shirts and a number of patients were surprised with festive sweater-themed blankets. SickKids said in January that more than $640,000 was raised.
Multiple athletes, politicians and entertainers have taken part in the campaign through the year, including Jackman, Matthews, Andrew De Grasse, and Toronto Mayor John Tory.
According to SickKids, in the three years of this campaign combined, more than $1.7 million has been raised.
Those wishing to make a donation can visit the campaign’s website. Samsung Canada has said it will match donations made before midnight on Christmas Eve up to $100,000.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.