Hennie's Herstel is an integrated campaign that celebrates South Africa’s linguistic diversity while connecting with a younger Afrikaans audience in an authentic, culturally resonant way. Hennie’s is a proudly local sports bar franchise known for its humour and hearty vibe but is at risk of becoming “just another bar”. To shift this perception and expand their appeal to Afrikaans youth, we leaned into the idea that Hennie’s is more than a bar - it’s a cultural escape. Among Afrikaans students and young adults, social drinking isn’t just about the alcohol - it’s a bonding ritual, a pressure release and a place to find your people.

So, we reframed what Hennie’s could be: not just the scene of the night before, but the sanctuary of the morning after. Enter the #HenniesHerstel campaign - translated as Hennie’s Recovery. We positioned Hennie’s as the ultimate destination for babalas (hangover) recovery. The campaign turned the often-taboo experience of being hungover into a shared badge of honour: a sign that you had a lekker jol (great time) and that Hennie’s is where you go to reset, reconnect and laugh it off. Using colloquial Afrikaans, we built a campaign full of cheeky one-liners, idiomatic humour and proudly local references. The tone was playful and knowing - you’ve been there, we’ve got you.

From in-store branding and merchandise to digital content, memes, influencer partnerships and morning-after menu items, every element of the campaign spoke the language of the audience quite literally. Examples included: Social posts like "Gisteraand was rowwe. Vandag’s ons by Hennie’s." (“Last night was rough. Today, we’re at Hennie’s.”) Branded content series like "Herstelstories" (“Recovery stories”) - user-generated tales of wild nights and soft landings at Hennie’s. #HenniesHerstel didn’t just grow foot traffic, it grew cultural relevance. It transformed the narrative of hangovers from embarrassment