The 1981 film The Gods Must Be Crazy was an offbeat, disarming comedy that depicted the culture shock of an African bushman who encounters modern civilization for the first time. A new Samsonite spot via TBWA/Chiat/Day, Playa del Rey, Calif., tells a similar tale, introducing the contemporary– a Samsonite Silhouette 6– into a tribal culture to illustrate the campaign’s tagline: "Worldproof– all over the world."
"Tribe" was directed by Brian Belefant of bicoastal Wildlife Management and shot on location in Namibia. It opens on a suitcase being airdropped into the African plains; it lands in the midst of stunned tribespeople, who stare at the strange item. A tribal score (supplied by Andrew Hagen and Eddie Reyes of Schtung Music, Santa Monica) sets the mood, and an English-accented voiceover explains that the new Silhouette 6 was recently introduced to an unsuspecting audience, who "responded to it immediately."
Tribe members poke gingerly at the luggage with branches, then open it. Seeing it filled with articles of clothing, one man takes out a necktie and holds it up wonderingly. The VO relates, "Many took to the maneuverability granted by its four wheels," and we see a man pulling the suitcase over rugged terrain, followed by a youngster pulling it while two more kids ride along inside. "Others took to its rather ingenious stacking shelves," the VO continues, accompanied by shots of a woman using the shelves to help store a water-filled jug; children, however, make use of the shelves in their game of toss. "And still others, well, just took to the whole style of it all," and one of the tribal chiefs triumphantly appears wearing a gray suit jacket, to the applause of the group.
"Travelers everywhere– it could be the answer to your dreams," the VO notes, as a tribal woman uses the Silhouette 6 to tote her parcels across the plain; as she passes two other women with bundles atop their heads, the Samsonite woman smiles to herself in satisfaction. "The Samsonite Silhouette 6– worldproof."
"Tribal" was created by art director Bill Kauker and copywriter Jonathan Hum. Tony Stern, a creative director on the spot, explained that the client’s brand strategy was to convey that the Samsonite can take care of whatever the world throws at you. With the task of introducing the new Silhouette 6, and determined to avoid the cliched "businessman running through the airport with a bag" execution, the team hit upon the idea of The Gods Must Be Crazy. Added Kauker, "We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have a piece of luggage be introduced to some nomadic tribe?’ "
While they’d initially planned to use African bushmen, they found a Namibian tribe near the Angolan border known as the Himba. And like the ad’s storyline, the white men from Western civilization found themselves introducing such concepts as TV and commercials to a culture that found them completely alien. (The translator explained the project to the tribe by saying that they were putting on a play.)
The shoot utilized a Cape Town production services company, Coastal Connections, and drew much of the crew from South Africa (which Belefant praised as "wonderful"), including DP Thomas van Schaik, AD Graham Hickson, chief location scout Rudy Rossouw, producer Janice Botha and production manager Jane Warren. The production team spent two weeks in Namibia, staying in a tent camp compound. The production went remarkably smoothly, according to the director. "We just had to anticipate every need we would have, because we were a four hours’ drive from the nearest pavement. So if you forget anything, you’re not getting a new replacement."
The culture clash provided some unique challenges and interesting moments. Providing tops for the Himba women, who typically go topless, was a problem easily solved, but others required more ingenuity. As Belefant related, the Himba don’t have our notion of numerical time. So how do you tell your talent you need them on the set at 5:30 a.m., when there is no such time? "The translator finally figured it out," said Belefant, "and told them, ‘You know what time it is when you’re sleeping with someone else’s wife or husband, and you have to go home?’ Everyone nodded, and he said, ‘That’s the time we want you there.’ Sure enough, nobody was late."
In one instance, after the translator was called away on a family emergency, Belefant and crew tried mightily to figure out the Afrikaans word for "smug." He was trying to direct the woman who pulls the suitcase past the two other women in the final scene. "That’s the look I wanted her to have," said Belefant. "Finally, I just gave up and talked to her directly, English to Himba, and somehow she got it. She was perfect."
In addition to providing money to the Himba tribe for educational activities, Belefant said, the production paid the talent in goats, blankets, cornmeal and coffee. (Stern joked that a steer and two goats were scale.) Belefant and the creatives said they were gratified when, after the shoot wrapped, the tribe honored them with a celebratory dance. Kauker and Hum said they regarded the highest honor to be when the tribe, which doesn’t have numbered years, told them they would name this year "Year of the white man’s games." Rossouw is slated to return to Namibia, with TV set and generator, to show the Himba the completed spot.
