Folgers "Home for the Holidays" Commercial
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Folgers "Home for the Holidays" Commercial |
| Abbreviation(s): | Folgers Incest Commercial, Folgercest, Folgerscest |
| Creator: | Folgers Coffee brand |
| Date(s): | 2009 – present |
| Medium: | TV commercial |
| Country of Origin: | United States |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Folgers "Home for the Holidays" Commercial, also known as Folgers Incest Commercial or Folgercest fandom, relates to a 2009 holiday commercial by the coffee brand Folgers. In the commercial, a brother and sister reunite for the holidays and proceed to have Eye Sex with each other.
This squicked a lot of viewers, but fans of incest pairings found it hilarious and often reblogged it on Tumblr. A fandom grew from it, with fanfiction posted to Archive of Our Own and fanart to Tumblr.
When Folgers created its 2009 ad about a brother and sister's touching reunion, the brand certainly didn't mean for it to become an anthem for incest.But something about the meaningful looks exchanged between the siblings and their oddly uncomfortable repartee has caused it to be remembered as "the Folgers incest commercial."[1]
The Commercial
History
The ad is a remake of the 1986 ad "Peter Comes Home For Christmas," which ran for many years. In 2009, the company decided to remake it. The brother was played by Matthew Alan, and the sister was played by Catherine Combs.
The commercial officially stopped airing after the 2012 holiday season.
Subtext
The commercial is shot like a romance. It adheres to the conventions of how you shoot pining and unresolved sexual tension, with lingering looks and the shy smiles. The subtext has less to do with the fact that she sticks the bow on his chest, and more to do with how the camera lingers on her face in the moment before she does: shy but wanting to make a move, her eyes flickering over him.
If I ever make a romantic movie then I want the actors from that Folgers commercial to play the main characters because the chemistry is REALMadeline[2]
Listen, I have a sibling. I've given them presents and hugged them after they spent a long time overseas. I'm telling you, sibling energy has less expectant gazing than this. Sibling reunions are about picking up old patterns where you left off, and nine levels deep inside jokes, and excited screaming. Sibling love looks like co-conspirator laughter — not soft eyes, shy smiles, and intimate whispers. [...] In this circumstance it looks like a beautiful woman cutting daggers into the heart of a military man. The "What are you doing?" has a little bit of... "[flirtatious] What are we doing?" It feels like a cathartic kiss is appropriate and they're actively suppressing it.CJ The X[3]
Fandom
The fic created for the commercial played a significant role into turning it from a meme into an actual fandom. Fans have commented with humorous disbelief on the number of fics published for this niche "fandom":
It persists in its meme from as well, though.[6]
Fics come in two distinct types:
- Extensions of the story begun in the commercial, featuring our two unnamed protagonists.
- Stories that use the commercial as a sort of mad-libs script, rewriting it with a pair of siblings from their favourite fandom (a Home for the Holidays AU, if you will). Such fics are typically tagged as a crossover between Folgers and the other fandom.
With the former, popular tropes include:
- The reason the brother joined the Peace Corps was to get as far away from home as possible, trying to outrun his incestuous feelings.
- The box contains a wedding ring, and our boy is about to propose.
- Jabs at the idea that Folgers is "real coffee".
As a small fandom, the Folgers "Home for the Holidays" Commercial qualifies, and is regularly nominated, for Yuletide. It first appeared as a Yuletide fandom in 2011.[7]
Fanworks
Fanfic
Pure Folgers
Vids
- Folger's Christmas Ad Parody by Coz Baldwin and Angie. (Dec 24, 2011)
- Thor/Loki - Folgers Commercial by TeamLadyCay: a voice over of the commercial vid of Thor/Loki. (Dec 24, 2012)
- Folgers Incest Commercial - Extended Cut by Comedy Central Originals: a parody extended fanvid of the original. (Dec 9, 2015)
Fanart
X-Mas Folgers by WendyDoodles
incestcoffee.png by Double Pines
(Pinecest)
"You're my present this year" by @deakyfucks
(Aemond Targaryen/Helaena Targaryen)
Manips
Gifsets
- The best part of waking up is your sister in the buff, Archived version by sail-not-drift, Cesare Borgia/Lucrezia Borgia
- You're my present this year, Archived version by hyemi, Sam/Dean
- ‘tis the season., Archived version by haljathefangirlcat, Daemon Targaryen/Rhaenyra Targaryen
Memes
Miscellaneous
- Podcast I Ship It, episode 74: "The Best Part of Waking Up"
Media Coverage
- In Retrospect, That Folgers Commercial From 2009 Is Definitely About Incest, Archived version by Tanner Greenring for Buzzfeed (Nov 6, 2014)
- Folgers: The Best Part of Waking Up… is Having Your Little Sister Creepishly Hit on You, Archived version by Keith (Dec 22, 2012)
- How to talk to your family about that Folgers incest commercial, Archived version by Aja Romano for The Daily Dot (26 November 2012)
- The Folgers Brother-Sister Christmas Commercial, Explained by the Brother Himself, Archived version by Benjamin Park for "Vanity Fair" (December 23, 2015)
- “You’re My Present This Year”: An Oral History of the Folgers Incest Ad, Archived version by Gabriella Paiella for GQ (December 16, 2019)
Archives & Fannish Links
- Archive of Our Own tag: Folgers "Home for the Holidays" Commercial
- Tumblr
- Twitter tag: folgerscest & folgercest
References
- ^ "That Uncomfortable Brother-Sister Ad for Folgers Gets Even Creepier in Parody Extended Version". Archived from the original on June 22, 2020.
- ^ "southerngothicseawitch.tumblr.com". Archived from the original on Dec 5, 2020.
- ^ CJ The X (Jan 3, 2024). "Folgers Coffee Christmas Incest Commercial 2009". YouTube.
- ^ "char-ientism post on Tumblr". Archived from the original on 4 December 2018.
- ^ "Tweet by shotaIeon". 13 November 2022. Archived from the original on 15 November 2022.
- ^ "my brother just put the champagne ribbon on me and said "you're my present this year"". Archived from the original on Nov 15, 2020.
- ^ The fic it inspired was Princess, Archived version by V_V_lala.
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