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the-brand-reaper · 2 months

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Legacy of the Folgers Incest Commercial

The other day I saw an ad for Folgers coffee that used the song "bad reputation" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and I thought, do they know? Did they pick this song because they wanted to appeal to a younger audience, or were they poking fun at what the true reputation of Folgers coffee has become? Because when I think of Folgers, as I'm sure that many other people on this hellsite can agree, I only think of one thing. That's right, I'm talking about the incest commercial.

For those of you that don't know, in 2009, Folgers wanted to reimagine their classic Christmas ad with a new version, titled, "Coming Home." The ad was intended to be homey and nostalgic, focusing on a family coming together for the holiday season. But what we got was a commercial that had some... other implications about family.

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The siblings portrayed in the commercial came across to some as uncomfortably flirty. And the internet agreed. Soon there were memes everywhere, fanart, parody videos— even fanfiction.

So what happened?

Folgers is a big brand, after all. This commercial would have likely had to go through multiple higher-ups and marketing executives who all watched it and said, “yeah, looks good. Let’s air it.”

The idea behind the commercial was that it featured an older brother coming home from his work in the Peace Corps overseas, only to discover that his younger sister had grown up quite a bit while he was away. This was intended to be addressed in a playful manner since he hardly recognized her, and everyone loved the idea.

On the surface, this idea could have worked. I think the main issue is that A: the two actors portrayed had way too much chemistry with each other, and B: in their attempts to make this ad feel cozy like a Hallmark Christmas movie, they...shot it like a Hallmark Christmas movie, romance and all.

I think the lesson to be learned here is that next time, maybe show your ad to a test group first before airing it nationally.

#folgers #folgers commercial #branding #company #funny #folgers incest commercial #folgerscest #folgers coffee #funny memes #Youtube

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