Grandpa’s dead: Is this tearjerker the saddest Christmas advertisement ever?

A German supermarket chain's TV ad has prompted floods of tears with its tragic holiday story about an old man whose children never visit, not even at Christmas.

His guilt-ridden children only return home after being told of grandpa's death; there’s a twist ending however.

By Wednesday, the video from EDEKA supermarket had racked up more than 20 million views online in five days, with “can't stop crying” among the typical comments.

WATCH: Can you get to the end of this ad with dry eyes?

The clip addresses a sensitive topic in Germany, where an estimated 8 million people over 60 say they suffer from occasional or permanent loneliness, campaigners say.

“There's a lot of stigma attached to loneliness in Germany, because the feeling is that people have only themselves to blame if they don't tend to their social contacts,” said Elke Schilling, a retiree who campaigns for senior citizens' rights.