It Is The Ten Year Anniversary Of The Coffee Ad That Accidentally Promoted Incest
You will never see instant coffee the same way again.
A decade ago, well-liked American coffee brand Folger’s released a new advert that accidentally promoted incest — surely one of the worst things to accidentally promote.
Called ‘Coming Home’, the commercial opens with a young man returning from a long trip. There he is, standing at the door, looking handsome in that deeply American way, when it flies open, and he greets his sister for the first time in years.
But he does not greet his sister in the way that you or I would greet a sibling (that is, unless you are Jamie Lannister, in which case, thanks for joining us, sorry about your hand.) Instead, he greets her with the smouldering eyes of someone who is absolutely and insatiably down to fuck.
play idea: dramatizing the before and after of the beautiful folger's incest ad story
— ? pope frances ? (@franceskoncan) December 18, 2019
From there, things only get more amorous. The sister slaps a bow on her brother and tells him that he’s her Christmas present this year. The pair lock eyes. The look lingers. The Folger’s incest coffee sits in the background, watching the whole thing go down like some fucking pervert.
In fact, the only thing that stops the ad from becoming a full-on fuck-fest is the sudden appearance of the pair’s parents, who are confronted with the hideous desires of their disgusting progeny.
Basically, the whole thing is a terrible, taboo-shattering mess.
Watch it here:
Oh, and ya know the worst part? Folger’s reckon they were completely oblivious to the subtext.
Yep, in a new oral history with GQ, the folks behind the advert justify their intentions by describing the whole thing as ‘wholesome’.
“Our goal in creating ‘Coming Home’ was to develop a heartwarming family homecoming story,” a representative told the publication.
“We did not anticipate the public would see it any other way. And rather than engaging with misinterpreted conversation about ‘Coming Home’ online, we’re focused on showcasing modern mornings in a new and different way for the brand.”
Wilder still, the oral history also reveals that there are people out there who write honest-to-God Folger’s incest coffee fanfic.
Like, for real.
The internet is a wild and terrifying place.