Borderline Talent- Deceptively Relevant

by Jonathan Marshall

Because I like to end the week on a cultural high note I included this inspiring TV spot from SKOF snacks. Borderline talent- everybody has it, and SKOF knows it. They are reaching out to their target audience by asking them to send in videos displaying their “borderline talent.”

As an advertising agency, the amount of creative freedom you have when you are promoting a product like snacks/chips is just plain ridiculous. It’s a common knowledge product, has been around for a long time, and exists in a saturated market. They could have gone pretty much anywhere with this campaign- and that’s exactly what they did. Saatchi & Saatchi uses the idea of “borderline talent” in this video not just because it is funny, but because it is relative. Like I said earlier, everyone has some kind of borderline talent, and as weird, random, inappropriate or stupid as it might be- it is still acceptable in this contest. I mean- it’s obvious that when you set the bar as high as SKOF did with this Ping Pong farting video, contestants will have to dig deep and send only their best borderline talent if they expect to win….

Anyway, as ridiculous and over-the-top as this video may seem, it definitely makes people remember SKOF, a new-comer into the snacks arena, and allows for their target audience to participate and become involved with the brand. In only 24 hours, it already has over 1,200 views on YouTube. Pretty bold move with this one, but I like it- Tip of the cap to the creative agency Saatchi & Saatchi.