Folgers New coffee commercial about son coming back from war once again crosses a line.

(Edit update: Dec. 26, 2010 - (9:10 pm) I was watching the Undercover boss episode of GSI Commerce with Michael Rubin when the Folgers Christmas Commercial with the brother and sister came on. Something about it was different. I had just seen it on 60 minutes and it seemed like the version below.

However, this Folgers version seemed different. Either it was a 15 second Folgers commercial version, or the commercial had been re-edited. I think they took out the smutty and longful looks between the brother and sister, and I think a voiceover was added at the front of the video saying "we", to imply the family missed their son/brother. I wIll have to watch out for this Folgers version that seemed different to me than the version below.)

I don't know what it is about Folgers attempts to create sappy, tear jerking commercials, but for the second year in a row, their attempt leaves me feeling slightly creeped out.

This time around the returning son from war arrives home and has a gift for sis. Sis looks longingly at her brother and says, "having you back is my gift".

In my opinion, this folgers commercial is very sappy and sweet, but it also has just has a slightly unintended incestuous tone to it. (Edit Update Dec. 6, 2010, I just found the commercial on youtube and have added it up above. The comments are a hoot and many basically mirror what I am saying.)

I think I just figured out what, in my opinion, Folgers has done wrong. I gave the solution to the Folgers Engagement commercial. I won't reveal the solution this time because at some point, these ad agencies and or company reps should be earnestly turning over whatever potential opportunities are out there to help guide them out of the embarrassment of churning out these commercials that seem to create an unintended yuck factor mixed in with the sweet sappiness.

Folgers should separate out that the yuck factor from the sweet sappiness in their commercials, otherwise, at some point, we may begin to wonder if their product is any different from their commercials.

Edit Update Dec.6, 2010: I am not sure when this commercial was originally broadcast. On the youtube upload it says 2009 folgers Christmas commercial.

Edit Update Dec.8, 2010: Folgers held a contest to come up with a new musical intro for their commercials. The irony is, that's not the problem with their commercials.

If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

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by Alessandro Machi at

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Folgers Father, Daughter and boyfriend proposing coffee commercial misses the mark.

The 2010 Folgers father daughter boyfriend coffee commercial is a taffy twist of old values and doing the right thing; that kind of ends up being a bit offensive.

Edit Update: Dec. 1, 2010 (If you are looking for my review of the Folgers commercial about the son coming back from war with a gift for sis, click here)

When I researched this commercial I discovered I could not find it on YouTube. This didn't surprise me as the Folgers Father Daughter commercial fumbles away what could have been a special father daughter moment within a commercial.

As I searched the internet looking for the commercial so I could post it within this article, I found feminists up in arms and conservative women teary eyed here and here. On a forum called "I hate commercials", everybody seems to be bringing up most of the controversial issues, but not tying them together the way I have below.

I found the feminist viewpoint typically angry and outraged, but for the wrong reasons. Being offended because a daughter still lives at home in her late twenties is missing the point. A woman can have more freedom living at home IF SHE IS SAVING MONEY because of it.

Some people with a conscience may feel guilty dating others if they have debt, so if living at home enables either a male or female TO SAVE MONEY or avoid going into debt, then there is no need to ridicule their living situation as the feminist viewpoint did.

Additionally, feminists being outraged because the dad was watching her every move also misses the point that the dad KNEW SOMETHING was going to happen and he just couldn't wait to find out.

The more conservative viewpoint instantly connects with a similar father daughter moment in their own lives and are won over early on.

But these contrasting interpretations appear to only use the first 20 seconds of the commercial to form their opinion and in that regard seem to be ignoring the most controversial part of the commercial. It is the very last line of dialogue in the Folgers engagement commercial that appears to have been tossed out with the coffee grounds by both sides, yet that last line of dialogue is what makes the commercial somewhat offensive in my opinion.

As you can see, the folgers father, daughter, boyfriend engagement commercial doesn't seem to last on the net, and maybe that is for good reason.

What I see in the final moments of this commercial is a dad modestly bragging (yikes!) to his daughter that without his help, his daughter's laggard boyfriend would have never proposed! Having watched the tv sit come Everybody Loves Raymond, all I can see is Raymond and Robert cringing every time their parents meddle in their lives the way dad appears to have done in this Folgers commercial.

The entire Folgers commercial seems impinged on the final line of dialogue, and yet, what does it say about the daughter if dad has to step in and FORCE the marriage issue with her boyfriend? The commercial script, obviously influenced by a male fatherly figure, is trying to say "Hey, ain't I great the way I rescued my little girl one more time, and got her married!"

This particular Folgers commercial could have taken the high road, and the funny road,if it had just used a slightly different ending. If dad had instead said, "I offered Biff two new cars and his own condo to get lost, but he said he would just sell the cars to buy you a bigger engagement ring", the commercial's message becomes that both men in her life want her to stay solidly in their lives. Now that would have been a sweet message.

This would have been a far more powerful father daughter moment than dad saying "I had a secret meeting with Biff last weekend to make sure he proposed to you".

Gasp.

Edit Update Dec.8, 2010: Folgers held a contest to come up with a new musical intro for their commercials. The irony is, that's not the problem with their commercials.

If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more

commercial critiques

by Alessandro Machi at

Super Bowl Consulting