The Castle Milk Stout stout brand has partnered with South African Sign Language (SASL) specialist Mmatlou Moloto to develop what are believed to be the world’s first formally recognised sign language representations of traditional African clan names.
The brand in conjunction with sign language experts and the Pan South African Language Board developed a way to communicate clan names in SASL. Source: Supplied.
The initiative gives SASL signs to seven clan names — “Zulu”, “Mashile”, “Matsebula”, “Seate”, “Dladla”, “Tshirimbula” and “Nkuna” — bringing cultural heritage and linguistic inclusion into the campaign.
Rather than translating existing language, the initiative introduces entirely new visual expressions into SASL, enabling Deaf communities to sign clan identities that have historically existed only in spoken or written form.
Language as culture, not translation
Clan names hold deep significance across South African cultures. They represent lineage, ancestry and belonging.
Mmatlou Moloto signing for the family. Source: Supplied.
Despite this cultural weight, many had no established signs within SASL. Working with Moloto, founder and CEO of Hands On Creatives and a qualified SASL interpreter with Honours degrees in SASL and Sign Language Interpreting, the brand collaborated with language specialists to develop a first set of clan signs. The newly created signs have been vetted and approved by the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), formally integrating them into South Africa’s linguistic framework.
From campaign idea to cultural practice
Instead of limiting the initiative to awareness messaging, Castle Milk Stout embedded the work into a real-life cultural moment – a wedding of a Deaf couple.
The ceremony incorporated the newly developed “Zulu” clan sign alongside custom-designed cultural elements, including calabash, blanket, wooden tray and reed mat designs, coupled with the use of hands and clan totems. From ceremony materials to tactile design details, every touchpoint reflected the intersection of language, identity and ritual.
The approach transformed what could have been a symbolic campaign into something lived and experienced. It demonstrated how Castle Milk Stout can bring its connection to African culture into contemporary experiences that create new points of connection between people.
A new model for brand-led inclusion
While accessibility campaigns often focus on adapting existing communication, this initiative takes a different approach by contributing to language development itself.
The project positions inclusion not as accommodation but as co-creation. By expanding SASL with new signs rooted in cultural identity, the campaign moves beyond representation and into participation. For Castle Milk Stout, a brand long associated with depth and heritage, the work extends the brand’s role beyond celebrating heritage – bridging culture and contemporary life and using its platform to connect and engage with audiences in new ways.
“Castle Milk Stout has always celebrated richness in flavour, culture and identity,” said brand director Thomas Lawrence. “Helping expand South African Sign Language through clan names allows us to honour heritage while making it more accessible and shareable across communities.”
The brand said consumers are encouraged to share their clan signs online and contribute to the ongoing expansion of the initiative, reinforcing the campaign’s central idea. Savour the richness.
