Coming Home (advertisement)
"Coming Home" (commonly referred to by unofficial titles such as the Folgers Incest Ad or the Folgers "Brother and Sister" Commercial) is a 2009 television commercial for Folgers Coffee. The commercial was created by the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi with the intention of emulating Folgers's 1980s commercial "Peter Comes Home For Christmas." The commercial became infamous after many viewers perceived that the brother-sister main characters were either engaged in or desired an incestuous relationship. The commercial inspired multiple works of fan fiction (collectively referred to as "Folgercest" or "Folgerscest"), including an entire section on the website Archive of Our Own; fan art; and parody videos.[1][3][4]
 Still image from the advertisement | |
| Agency | Saatchi & Saatchi |
|---|---|
| Client | The J.M. Smucker Company[1] |
| Language | English |
| Media | Television |
| Running time | 45 seconds |
| Product | |
| Release date(s) | 2009 |
| Written by | Doug Pippin |
| Directed by | Ray Dillman[1] |
| Music by | Leslie Pearl[1][2] |
| Starring |
|
| Produced by | Jerry Boyle[1] |
| Preceded by | Peter Comes Home For Christmas |
Plot
Writing for GQ, Gabriella Paiella described the plot as follows:
"Coming Home" opens with a taxi dropping a young man off outside a snow-covered house bedecked in Christmas decorations early one morning. A young woman excitedly opens the door and establishes that she’s his sister by pointing at herself and saying "sister!" He’s weary, having just returned from volunteering in "West Africa," and the two share a cup of freshly-brewed Folgers coffee while their parents are still asleep. (In some versions he even says "ah, real coffee," as if he didn't just come from where some of the best coffee in the world is produced.) He hands her a small present, but instead of opening it, she peels off the red bow and sticks it on his shirt. "What are you doing?" he asks. "You’re my present this year," she responds. The camera zooms in on her shy glance, then cuts to his furtive, flirty smile.
Their parents then enter the kitchen and greet the brother as the jingle "The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup" plays.
Background
In 1985, Folgers released a long-running commercial called "Peter Comes Home For Christmas". In that commercial, a man named "Peter" comes home and his greeted by his younger sister, who is a little girl (as opposed to a teenager). An additional inspiration was that writer Doug Pippin's son had recently joined the Peace Corps and came home for Christmas.[5]
Legacy
For the ad's tenth anniversary in 2019, GQ interviewed people involved in creating the ad.
References
- Paiella, Gabriella (December 16, 2019). ""You're My Present This Year": An Oral History of the Folgers Incest Ad". GQ. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- "'The Best Part of Wakin' Up': Folgers' Iconic Jingle Sells for $90,500". People. IAC. October 4, 2021. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- Park, Benjamin (December 23, 2015). "The Folgers Brother-Sister Christmas Commercial, Explained by the Brother Himself". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
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- Webb, Jon (December 17, 2019). "The Internet is going crazy over a Folgers 'incest' ad. An Evansville native stars in it". Evansville Courier & Press. Gannett. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- Greenring, Tanner (November 6, 2014). "In Retrospect, That Commercial From 2009 Is Definitely About Incest". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- "Folgers "Peter" Tells of Classic Christmas Commercial". Retrieved November 16, 2009.