Beerlao Tells Lao Drinkers to Stop Trying and Just Be Themselves
Beerlao's 2022 campaign 'Don't try to be cool, just be lao' is an online film initiative created by WORKKIT Bangkok that challenges Lao consumers to reject the affectation of imported coolness and embrace authentic Lao character, positioning the beer brand as a natural expression of local identity rather than a lifestyle aspirant, according to Astuteanalytica.
The campaign launched in Laos in May 2022 and was developed to address a specific perception problem, according to 6wresearch. As noted in Clapboard's editorial record, modern drinkers in Laos had stopped seeing Beerlao as the cool choice when measured against imported beer brands. Rather than contest that territory on its rivals' terms, the campaign reframed coolness itself as a liability. The core argument is disarmingly simple: behaving out of Lao character is tedious, absurd, and not worth emulating.
WORKKIT Bangkok, the Bangkok-based creative agency behind the work, structured the campaign around three short films — titled Restaurant, Nightclub, and Pool Party — each staging a recognisable social situation in which a Lao person awkwardly performs an imported version of cool, according to Campaignbriefasia. According to Clapboard's campaign record, the films were distributed across both online and offline platforms in Laos, amplifying reach beyond digital-native audiences. Meidea Full Service, the Laos-based brand and media partner, managed in-market deployment alongside production company Songmue Production. The campaign became a social topic among Lao people during its run, suggesting that the satirical framing connected with something genuinely felt in the local culture. With a Clapboard Score of 63 out of 100, the work is recognised as a competent and culturally specific piece of brand communication that plays to Beerlao's strongest asset: its decades-long presence as the beer of Laos.
Beerlao holds a commanding position in Laos. According to Glass and Note, the Lao Brewery Company — which produces Beerlao — held approximately 85% of Lao beer sales as recently as 2024, with some reporting placing its domestic share closer to 90%. That scale is both a strategic asset and a creative constraint: a brand that large cannot credibly chase imported cool without appearing inauthentic.
The insight driving the 2022 campaign is rooted in a generational tension that WORKKIT Bangkok had been tracking since at least 2020, according to Wipo Int. As reported by Clapboard, the 'Don't try to be cool, just be lao' work was a continuation of a repositioning effort that began with the 2020 'What's your PRIDE-ority?' campaign, which sought to rebuild Beerlao's image among younger Lao consumers who were gravitating toward international beer brands. That earlier campaign introduced a range of crafty beers through a participation-led online and offline election, also developed by WORKKIT Bangkok in partnership with Meidea Full Service and a digital media agency in Vientiane, as documented by Clapboard. The 2022 campaign sharpened the same strategic logic into a more direct cultural provocation.
In Laos, the competitive landscape pits Beerlao against imported brands including Heineken and regional labels distributed across Southeast Asia — companies that, on a global basis, operate at enormous scale. The global beer market was valued at approximately 219 billion US dollars in 2022 and grew to approximately 235 billion US dollars in 2023, according to GlobeNewswire. Major international players including AB InBev, Heineken, and Carlsberg compete aggressively across Southeast Asian markets, according to the same source. Against that backdrop, Beerlao's strategic answer in Laos is not to outspend or out-globalise its competitors, but to claim territory that no imported brand can occupy: the specific, lived texture of being Lao.
The creative execution of 'Don't try to be cool, just be lao' rests on comic contrast. Each of the three films — Restaurant, Nightclub, and Pool Party — places a Lao protagonist in a familiar social setting and then observes the awkwardness that results when that person performs an imported version of cool rather than simply being themselves. The humour is not cruel; it is recognitional. The films invite Lao audiences to see themselves in the situation and feel the absurdity before the character does.
Creative direction was led by Adam Siriraka of WORKKIT Bangkok, with art direction handled by Adisak Boodsabong, as documented by Clapboard. The copywriting team comprised Chatchawan Rakyaem and Issarawon Sasiwongsaroj, while strategic direction was provided by Chattakul Nachisit, all per Clapboard's campaign record. Client service was directed by Koblap Narukatp, with Meidea Full Service serving as the in-market brand and media partner in Laos and Songmue Production responsible for physical production of the films.
The choice of three distinct social environments — a restaurant, a nightclub, and a pool party — is deliberate. These are the precise settings in which imported beer brands typically stage their advertising: aspirational, stylised, and socially charged. By using those same environments and then subverting the behaviour within them, the campaign meets its competitor's visual language on familiar ground before dismantling it. The films were distributed across online and offline platforms in Laos, meaning the work was designed to function in both a social-scroll context and a traditional broadcast environment. That dual distribution reflects the mixed media landscape of the Lao market in 2022, where digital penetration was growing but offline channels retained significant reach across the country.
No independently audited performance data for the 'Don't try to be cool, just be lao' campaign has been published in a verifiable third-party source. What is documented, per Clapboard's editorial record, is that the campaign was shared among Lao audiences and became a social topic during its run — a qualitative indicator that the satirical premise achieved genuine cultural traction rather than simply media placement.
The campaign record on Clapboard documents 2,219 views and 8 likes on the submitted asset, figures that reflect the platform's own archival data rather than the campaign's full in-market performance across Laos. These numbers should not be read as a measure of the campaign's reach, which encompassed both online and offline distribution channels in Laos throughout May 2022 and beyond.
Structurally, the three-film format is well suited to the campaign's objectives. By staging the same argument — imported cool is awkward, authentic Lao behaviour is natural — across three different social environments, the work builds cumulative persuasive weight without repeating itself. Each film reinforces the brand message while remaining independently watchable, which is precisely the architecture required for content designed to circulate socially. The decision to anchor that message in comic observation rather than sentimental nationalism also gives the campaign replayability; the humour provides a reason to share beyond brand loyalty. The Clapboard Score of 63 out of 100 reflects a campaign that executes its cultural strategy with competence and specificity, though the relatively modest production scale and limited documented reach place a ceiling on the overall assessment.
The campaign is a three-film online and offline series launched in Laos in May 2022, created by WORKKIT Bangkok for Beerlao. It argues that imitating imported coolness is awkward and absurd, while behaving authentically as a Lao person is natural. The films are titled Restaurant, Nightclub, and Pool Party.
Beerlao launched the campaign because younger Lao consumers had begun to perceive the brand as less cool than imported beer alternatives. Rather than compete on imported cool, the campaign reframed authentic Lao character as the superior choice. The 2022 work continued a repositioning effort that began with the 2020 'What's your PRIDE-ority?' campaign, per Clapboard.
WORKKIT Bangkok created the campaign. Creative direction was led by Adam Siriraka, with art direction by Adisak Boodsabong and copywriting by Chatchawan Rakyaem and Issarawon Sasiwongsaroj. Meidea Full Service handled in-market brand and media responsibilities in Laos, and Songmue Production served as the production company, as documented by Clapboard.
Beerlao holds a dominant position in the Lao beer market. According to Glass and Note, the Lao Brewery Company held approximately 85% of Lao beer sales as recently as 2024, with some reporting placing the domestic share closer to 90%. That commanding position informed the campaign's strategy of owning cultural authenticity rather than chasing imported brand perceptions.
The Beerlao 'Don't try to be cool, just be lao' campaign received a Clapboard Score of 63 out of 100. The score reflects competent and culturally specific execution of a clear brand strategy, with the three-film structure providing cumulative persuasive weight, though modest production scale and limited publicly documented reach constrain the overall rating.
Beerlao's campaign directly subverts the visual language that international brands like Heineken use in Laos — aspirational social settings and stylised coolness. By staging Restaurant, Nightclub, and Pool Party scenarios and then dismantling imported behaviour within them, the campaign claims cultural territory that no foreign beer brand operating in the Lao market can credibly occupy.
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