Thailand's new military leader has romanticized his junta, penning the lyrics of a chauvinistic ballad to bring back happiness to the country.

The song "Return Happiness to Thailand," performed by the Royal Thai Army Band has gotten more than 200,000 views on YouTube since its release on Friday.

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Return Happiness to Thailand is regularly played on radio and television all over Thailand. It had also been featured in military goodwill concerts around the country.

Thai media has quoted Colonel Krisada Sarika, head of the Royal Thai Army Band as saying Gen Prayuth Chan-Ocha had composed the lyrics in his own handwriting in about an hour.

The ballad goes, "Let us be the ones who step in before it is too late/To bring back love, how long will it take?"

Thailand's junta, after the May 22 coup d'etat, the 12th in 82 years  has embarked on an unprecedented PR to win the hearts and minds of the people in this divided country.

The regime which calls itself, the  National Council for Peace and Order has held public festivals featuring mini-skirted dancers, free haircuts, petting zoos and stands where attendees can take "selfies" with the soldiers. Free tickets to screenings of a patriotic movie across the country has also been promised.

Political science professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak, at the Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said the PR campaign was far more intense than the previous coups.

"Earlier coups did not require as much PR campaigning because public expectations and media tools of scrutiny at home and abroad were less pervasive and powerful," he explained.

Prayuth delivered on Friday, the first of a planned weekly TV and radio broadcast "Returning Happiness to the People," wherein  he repeatedly struck on the concept while outlining the vision of his junta.

"We need to solve many issues; from administration to the budget system, corruption, and even the starting point of democracy itself -- the election. Parliamentary dictatorship has to be removed. All these have caused conflict and unhappiness among Thai people," he said, in response to questions whether Thailand was ready for democracy.

"We intend to return happiness to everyone living in Thailand."

But the sprightly overtures have been stringed along by an unrelenting crackdown on dissent, with hundreds of people rounded up, including academicians, journalists, activists and politicians.

The government officials has been urged by the junta  to identify potential troublemakers among their colleagues. Warnings were also issued on liking dissenting posts on social media or the flashing of three-fingered anti-coup salute co-opted from the Hunger Games films.

Thai Associate Professor Pavin Chachavalpongpunat of Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University, described the happiness campaign as a "gimmick," and a "very crude form of populism" that was unlikely to work.

"I don't think the majority of Thais will buy into this happiness project, because there is nothing to be happy about when your basic human rights have been taken away, when you cannot even express how you feel in public peacefully," he said.

"The reality is they're continuing to hunt down and harass people. Happiness versus a climate of fear -- it doesn't go together."

Thitinan said he believed the campaign might help but only in short-term.

"Initially, the hearts-and-minds campaigns will seem to hold promise because of the complete dominance of the new regime and the lack of alternatives," he said.

"But it would be surprising if these superficial and manufactured approaches succeed in resolving such deep-seated conflicts that have built up over many years."

TagsThailand, Thai, Ball, Happiness, General, Return Happiness to Thailand, song, YouTube, Royal Thai Army Band