Let \((S,+)\) be a commutative semigroup, \(\sigma \) an involution of S, and \(\mathbb {F}\) a field of characteristic different from 2. We find all solutions \(f,g: S\rightarrow \mathbb {F}\) of the functional equation \( f(x+y)+g(x+\sigma (y))=f(x)+f(y)+g(x)g(y), \quad x,y \in S, \) which arises from summing, side by side, the additive Cauchy equation \(f(x+y)=f(x)+f(y)\) and the equation \(g(x+\sigma (y))=g(x)g(y)\) . This enables us to investigate whether this equation is equivalent to the system \( \left\{ \begin{array}{l} f(x+y)=f(x)+f(y) \\ g(x+\sigma (y))=g(x) g(y) \end{array}\right. \) for all \(x,y \in S\) (the alienation phenomenon). Additionally, we consider a related problem that couples d’Alembert’s functional equation with the additive Cauchy equation.