Jalan Carlsberg: How an international beer brand re-energised the local scene for a new generation

Being around for generations is an advantage for any beer brand, but longevity can also come with baggage. For Carlsberg Singapore, years of being a familiar sight at neighbourhood kopitiams had cemented its place in Singapore’s drinking culture. At the same time, that familiarity had contributed to a perception that it was becoming an “uncle beer”, established and well known, but perhaps less relevant to younger drinkers.

But rather than distance itself from that image, Carlsberg decided to lean into it. Together with independent creative agency The Ad Makers, the brand returned to the very place where much of that familiarity had been built: the kopitiam. The question was how it could be reimagined for a new generation.

The result was Jalan Carlsberg, a contemporary take on Singapore’s neighbourhood drinking culture created for GastroBeats 2025. The experience has since picked up three awards: Gold for Best Event >500 Attendees, silver for Best Event Branding, and silver for Best Pop-up Experience/Environment.

Turning familiarity into an advantage

The kopitiam has long been one of Singapore’s most recognisable social spaces, where generations have gathered over food, football, conversation and cold beers. Carlsberg’s presence in that environment over the years has given it a genuine association with an established part of Singapore’s drinking culture.

But what feels familiar to one generation can feel dated to another. Instead of trying to make Carlsberg look younger by distancing the brand from its past, Jalan Carlsberg embraced the kopitiam mantle and injected it with new energy.

The idea was not to erase the “uncle beer” perception, but to turn the heritage behind that perception into something a younger generation could discover for themselves.

The kopitiam, reimagined

Built across a 20m by 10m footprint at GastroBeats, Jalan Carlsberg transformed familiar elements of the neighbourhood kopitiam into a larger-than-life Carlsberg world.

Kopitiam-style furniture, familiar signage, street details and neighbourhood visual cues created immediate recognition, while Carlsberg's identity brought them together into a space distinctly its own.

Rather than nostalgically recreating an old coffee shop, these familiar elements were remixed for how younger audiences socialise and experience brands today. Even the name Jalan Carlsberg captured that collision of worlds, turning the brand into a fictional Singapore street visitors could physically step into.

Interactive elements gave visitors more reasons to explore. Gachapon machines introduced an element of play, while unexpected content moments turned ordinary interactions into opportunities for sharing. Even reaching into a refrigerator for a Carlsberg became part of the experience, with a camera inside capturing visitors as they reached for their beer.

Bringing generations to the same table

The result was a space that could speak to different generations. Older Singaporeans could recognise the cultural codes immediately, while younger visitors encountered those same codes in a setting designed around how they experience and share culture today.

For a long-established brand, Jalan Carlsberg took an association that could have made it feel dated and turned it into an advantage. Instead of leaving its past behind, Carlsberg reimagined it, giving a new generation a reason to make the kopitiam, and the brand's place within it, their own.