20 Mar 2026
Forget “Lisa”, Thai Tourism can now make Marlon Brando its New Brand Image
Bangkok – On 30 January 2026, the Tourism Authority of Thailand launched a multi-million baht advertising and marketing campaign under the tagline “Amazing Thailand – Feel All The Feelings”. The iconic face of the campaign was Lisa, a charming popstar turned actress who featured in the HBO hit “The White Lotus”.
The campaign was designed “to entice tourists to experience and discover the multitude of feelings to be gained from travelling in Thailand, including happiness, serenity, excitement, challenge, and warmth.” Neither the budget nor the timeframe was disclosed, but its impact clearly faded in value on Feb 28, the day of the US-Israel attack on Iran.
Since then, tourism is again in a tailspin. Those heart-warming “feelings” of “happiness, serenity, excitement, challenge, and warmth” have given way to a grim and gloomy atmosphere akin to the Covid-19 era.
Hundreds of millions of baht in taxpayers money spent on the Lisa-driven “Feel All the Feelings” campaign has gone down the drain.
But…..
Thai tourism is very fond of the mantra, “Convert Crisis into an Opportunity.”
If it is smart, the industry will realise that a door has opened to do just that. “Lisa” has gone, but another much more powerful brand icon has emerged, at absolutely zero cost to the Thai taxpayer.
It is a gift that will keep giving for years ahead.
The legendary Hollywood icon Marlon Brando was the star of “The Ugly American”, a movie shot almost entirely in Thailand in the 1960s, when the TAT was still in its infancy. Its storyline plot about an American ambassador trying to interfere in the affairs of a backward Southeast Asian country named “Sarkhan” bears an uncanny resemblance to real-life geopolitics today.
The “Ugly American” epithet became a perjorative to describe Americans as exhibiting “loud, arrogant, self-absorbed, demeaning, thoughtless, ignorant, and ethnocentric behaviour.” It was first applied to the behaviour of American tourists in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s, then expanded into the corporate arena and has now entered the political realm.
Today, the presidency of the unhinged Donald Trump is facing universal derision and contempt. The description of “The Ugly American” as an example of “loud, arrogant, self-absorbed, demeaning, thoughtless, ignorant, and ethnocentric” behaviour perfectly fits Donald Trump and many members of his administration.
The new era of the “The Ugly American” will remain in place for as long as Donald Trump is president, and probably beyond.
In an “Open Letter to the American People” on 19 March 2026, Dr.Chirmsak Pinthong, a former Senator in the Thai Parliament and one of the country’s leading political commentators, said, “We are witnessing a leader who appears to be in a state of cognitive and moral decline – one who acts as if the future of the planet is irrelevant once his own tenure concludes. This is the most dangerous form of leadership: one with immense power and nothing left to lose.”
He added, “The families of Asia, Europe, South America, and beyond should not have to face economic collapse, energy crises, or the specter of global conflict because of a failure in American domestic oversight. This is not a partisan issue of Left versus Right; it is a fundamental question of sanity and global survival.”
Here is the full text of Dr Chirmsak’s post and some of the reactions to it.
The Thai tourism industry is well placed to take the lead in converting that talk into walk.
As the Tourism Authority of Thailand is promoting movie shoots in Thailand, and the Royal Thai Government is giving concessional privileges to Hollywood producers, there is a clear opportunity for Thai tourism to create a new set of niche-market, geopolitically-themed tours based on that movie.
What better star-power than the lead actor, the late Marlon Brando?
The film’s lead Thai actor, M.R. (a Thai honorific indicating Royal lineage) Kukrit Pramoj, was cast as the Prime Minister of the fictitious Southeast Asian country in the film. The Oxford-educated politician went on to actually become the 13th Prime Minister of Thailand between March 1975-April 1976. His elegant home in Soi Suan Plu, one of the few remaining “traditional” parts of Bangkok, was once open to the public but shut down permanently after Covid.
Three of the movie locations – the Grand Palace, Chulalongkorn University and Don Mueang Airport – still exist in their original form. In fact, Don Mueang airport is now a completely transformed aviation hub. The old terminal is gone but the original site remains the same.
Thailand can invite filmmakers, scholars, and policymakers to tour the locations, and engage with this legacy by hosting conferences, supporting film productions, and curating themed cultural tours that encourage reflection and dialogue on how can Travel & Tourism can become a part of the solution in this era of global polarisation and divisiveness.
The Asia-Pacific units of all the United Nations agencies are based in Thailand. The UN Conference Centre is a perfect platform for forums and events on creating a post “Ugly American” world order — one that is more peaceful, sustainable, safe, secure, balanced and just.
This theme is Thailand’s distinctive competitive advantage and unique selling proposition. No other country offers such a perfect combination of content and concept, timing and relevance.
“The Ugly American” movie is available on YouTube, offering an accessible starting point for a broader global conversation.