The role of the brother went to Matthew Alan, who has since gone on to star in the series Castle Rock and 13 Reasons Why. Catherine Combs, who played the sister, declined to be interviewed for this article.

Ray Dillman: I got a project years ago for the Professional Golfers Association and there was a set of words you don't like to hear as a director: "Oh yeah, and it's going to be non-union talent." But you do find good people, and Matthew was one of those people. He hadn't done anything and I cast him. He was so good and so genuine and so sweet, just had that sweetness about him that was perfect for the spot. And then when we started to cast the Folgers spot, I requested that he come in.

Matthew Alan (actor, played the brother in the ad): I was auditioning for a lot of commercials at the time and I was still pretty green. I had worked with the director before—he was such a lovely guy. To me it was very personal, very special because it was the beginning of my career and one of the first jobs that I had the pleasure of booking.

Timothy Simons: They didn’t audition together but I remember both of their performances being the best performances that anybody saw that day. Especially the young woman—she had incredible energy in the room. Just a really lovely person, a really strong actor.

Matthew Alan: We met the very first day on set, and she was really lovely to work with. We haven't crossed paths since, so I'd be curious to see where she's at and how she's doing now.

Ray Dillman: She, first of all, took it seriously, but just had something that I felt would match Matthew. She had something special and did really good things with whatever adjustment I asked her to do.

Matthew Alan: It was a full day, probably a 12-hour day. I remember pulling up to this neighborhood in Santa Monica, five minutes from the beach, and wondering how they're going to make this house look so Christmas-y. And then this big snow machine comes in.

Ray Dillman: I took my daughter and her friend in their little school uniforms and stood them there and took a picture of them. Because it's so funny to see, well, number one, to see snow in Santa Monica, but, two, in the middle of August.

Matthew Alan: It was a very magical, surreal experience.

Despite how the ad was eventually interpreted, everyone involved insists there was no romantic chemistry on set that day.

Matthew Alan: It was purely brother and sister at the time. It was pretty surprising when people started talking because this was a brother-sister thing!

Ray Dillman: They had fun with each other. I didn't see anything that would've indicated that it could be interpreted any other way.

Jerry Boyle: Everything was completely innocent on the set. There was nothing while we were filming it or editing it that anybody ever felt that way.

One of the very first people, if not the first person, to write about the incesteous undertones in the ad was Alexa Marinos. “Is it just me,” she asked on her now-defunct blog, Cleveland Is a Plum, “Or does Peter want to bang his little sister?”

Alexa Marinos (corporate communications manager): I’m a marketer by trade so I always pay attention to commercials and ads, particularly holiday ones because I’m always curious to see how brands flex and adapt their marketing for the holiday season. I used to do all my writing in front of the television. So when, I’ll call it, “Peter Comes Home for Christmas 2.0” aired I was sitting in front of my laptop. And I just remember immediately critiquing the spot in my head as a marketer. Particularly the casting, the casting seemed off to me. I was like “why is Peter’s little sister 22 instead of four? And why is Peter, like, vibing on his little sister?”