3 - Lifestyle or Popular Culture

Popular Culture: The Rise and Fall of a Language App Mascot

The Duolingo Owl has struck again. Or, rather, he has been struck. By a car. He is dead.

But is he really?

On February 11, the Duolingo team announced the death of its infamous owl mascot, Duo. Born in 1000 BC, Duo Keyshauna Renee Lingo became the mascot of the popular language-learning company in 2011. He was known for his tendency to "guilt-trip" users into completing their lessons on the app, which caused many users to dislike him. Duo always found innovative ways to remind people to practice. 


He was also known for bothering employees and seeking the attention of English pop star Dua Lipa, to whom he proposed outside her 2022 concert at Madison Square Garden. He was an intriguing owl with unusual pastimes, such as stalking. Thankfully, I receive daily notifications from Duolingo but have never been stalked by Duo (probably because I complete my Japanese lessons on time).

"Tbh, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know," the company shared in a social media post. Alongside the post, its social profiles and app icon were changed to an image depicting a dead Duo with crosses in his eyes.


Within a week, the post garnered 140 million views on X (Twitter) and millions of interactions on Instagram. Other companies and franchises, including Squishmallows, Popsockets, Strawberry Shortcake, Pinterest, UNO, Walmart, and FedEx, expressed their condolences in the comments section.



At the time, the cause of Duo's death was still under investigation. However, the company made a post the following morning confirming that Duo had been killed by a Tesla Cybertruck. Warning: The following video is disturbing.


Below: This image speaks for itself.

Over the next several days, the marketing team shared more posts about Duo's death, including a funeral at Duolingo headquarters. On February 13, they revealed that Duolingo's main characters had also tragically died. Their causes of death are as follows:

Falstaff the Bear - Illegal Poaching

Zari - No Bidet in the Bathroom

Lily - Sincere Hug By A Child


Duo Needs Your Help!
The death of Duolingo's characters was a tragedy, but we need not fret. On February 17, the company announced that Duo would be resurrected if users raised 50 billion XP (the currency awarded after practicing a language) in the app. The team created the website bringback.duolingo.com, where users could monitor the progress of Duo's revival. "It's Duo or Die! Let's work together to bring Duo back before it's too late. Do a lesson now," they urged. One week later, Duo was saved, with users from the United States earning over six billion XP toward his resurrection. Germany and Brazil followed.


However, social media users finally learned the truth on February 24. The Duolingo Owl had faked his own death, fooling millions. "Y'all really think I'd let a Cybertruck take me out?" he shared with a well-edited video. "Faking my death was the test, and you all passed."


Was this a clever marketing strategy? Absolutely. The campaign sparked extensive conversations on social media, largely due to Duolingo's unconventional and often chaotic online presence. According to youth culture agency Archrival, "Young audiences feel connected to brands with a sense of humor and personality" (Axios). I enjoyed watching Duo's death unfold in real time and felt excitement every time I opened Instagram and saw a new post from Duolingo. Every post left me wondering, "What could possibly happen next?"

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