The Heritage of Craft
In a world of instant gratification and immediacy, craft is under threat; it’s an endangered skillset. Castle Lager is The Taste That’s Stood The Test of Time - according to the brand’s own positioning- and as the country’s oldest beer, celebrating its 130th birthday, we delivered the perfect, PR-able, branded content tactic to pair contemporary culture with crafted, photographic nostalgia.
Heritage of Craft re-ignited South Africa’s pride in its oldest beer by telling a story not of innovation, but of preservation… a story 130 years in the making.
Through an extraordinary act of craft, photographing our national sports icons with a restored 1895 J. Lancaster & Son camera, Castle Lager reminded South Africans that true craft, like true unity, stands the test of time. What began as a heritage celebration became a cultural moment: a toast to the artistry, resilience, and shared history that continue to define our nation.
The journey began with a search across Europe for a working 1895 camera, the same vintage as Castle’s first brew. Once restored with the help of one of South Africa’s last master hand-printers, Dennis da Silva, the camera became our storytelling tool.
We then partnered with Vino Snap “The Eye of God” an iconic sports photographer whose lens has chronicled South Africa’s greatest moments. Together, we photographed the Springboks, Proteas, and Bafana Bafana (the teams Castle Lager has sponsored since the dawn of South African democracy).
The process became a documentary: The Heritage of Craft. Shot at Newlands Brewery with Master Brewer Kyle Moskovitz, the film intertwined brewing and photographic craftsmanship, culminating in a national Heritage Month celebration.
Amplified through earned media, digital films, and social storytelling, the campaign invited South Africans to see heritage not as something old, but as something alive - brewed, crafted, and shared.
Heritage Day Connection:
The initiative was timed to coincide with Heritage Day in South Africa (24 September 2025), a moment that resonates nationally around culture, tradition, and pride. This gave the campaign cultural relevance and aligned it with the brand’s positioning as “the taste that has stood the test of time for 130 years”.
The results:
For the brand, a significant results was the +12% average growth in cans YOY. Additionally, the campaign achieved over R3 million in earned media value (vs R1 million KPI), 29 tier-one media features, and 38.8 million PR reach, with 33% share of voice during Heritage Month.
More importantly, it reframed Castle Lager from a sports sponsor to a cultural custodian, a brand woven into the very fabric of South African identity.
Heritage of Craft proved that authenticity is the new modernity, and that some tastes, like some crafts, truly do stand the test of time.
- Pippa Misplon | Managing Director
- Koketso Masisi | Executive Creative Director
- Mike Sharman | Co-Founder and CCO
- Kgothatso Maditse | Creative Director
- Production Company: Shaun James Film
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