In the 1950s and 1960s, there were attempts in both Thailand and Laos to appropriate "lam" for political purposes. The USIS in Thailand and both sides in the Laotian Civil War (the "Secret War") recruited "mor lam" singers to insert propaganda into their performances, in hopes persuading the rural population to support their cause. The Thai attempt was unsuccessful, taking insufficient account of performers' practices and the audiences' demands, but it was more successful in Laos. The victorious Communists continued to maintain a propaganda troupe even after seizing power in 1975.