• by Danielle Oster , February 28, 2025

Reports of Duo the owl’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

Language learning app Duolingo concluded a social media campaign which kicked off around the Super Bowl by “reviving” its owl mascot, Duo, a little over two weeks after killing off the character.

It all started with messages announcing his death on its social media channels. One Instagram post, for example, read in part “It is with heavy hearts that we inform you that Duo, formerly known as The Duolingo Owl, is dead,” with the brand adding “he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson.” The brand really committed to the bit with a series of ensuing posts – attributing his cause of death to being hit by a Cybertruck, and sharing a eulogy from its CEO, Luis von Ahn.

This week, Duolingo revealed that the character is in fact alive, with Duo calling his staged death all part of his “master plan” in another post. Whether or not audiences bought the bit, the stunt attracted a lot of attention. The initial announcement on Instagram racked up over two million likes.

“The approach to ‘kill’ its mascot plays into Duolingo’s established brand identity -- playful, cheeky and unexpected. The brand created a dramatic and engaging narrative around his death, tapping into the power of storytelling to spark curiosity, fuel engagement and keep people talking about the brand,” Matt Herbert, co-founder and co-CEO of brand tracking platform Tracksuit, told Marketing Daily. “Tracksuit’s data showcases that Duolingo’s approach to harnessing humor and meme culture to create viral moments does in fact work.”

The approach helped Duolingo stave off stagnation in the online learning platform category over the course of the last year. While category penetration remained flat  from February, 2024 through January, 2025, Duolingo fared better across marketing funnel metrics tracked by Tracksuit. The brand saw a six percentage point increase in consideration, five percentage point increases in usage and preference, and 3 percent point increase in investigation, according to its data.

“The brand is not just attracting new users or benefiting from category-wide expansion, it’s also moving consumers through the marketing funnel,” Herbert said, which “indicates an effective, wide-reaching marketing strategy that is resonating well across multiple demographics.”

According to Tracksuit data, the growth spans across multiple demographics, with younger consumers aged 18-34 “showing significantly increased consideration, investigation, claimed usage and preference,” while “awareness and consideration” showing a marked increase among older consumers aged 35-64.

“At the core of Duolingo’s success is its ability to make learning a language feel fun and culturally relevant. Viral moments, meme-worthy content and the now-iconic Duo the Owl have turned what could be a forgettable educational tool into a cultural phenomenon,” Herbert said. “More than just awareness, it has become synonymous with language learning. This is a result of an ongoing, clever and quirky marketing strategy that ensures Duolingo is top of mind when a consumer decides to learn a new language.”

What can marketers learn from Duolingo’s approach? “Humor and personality matter,” and “distinctive brand assets win categories,” said Herbert. Marketers should aim to consistently show up in engaging ways.

The brand’s approach to social media engagement is not without its detractors, though, as in a post from brand strategy consultant Brittany Antoinette on LinkedIn.

“A Black creator, Alex Elle, made a playful comment under their post, giving the Duolingo owl a very Black, African American name—Duo Keyshauna Renee Lingo. Instead of engaging with her or crediting her, Duolingo took that joke, repackaged it, and turned it into a funeral obituary post using the same name—without acknowledgment,” Antoinette explained. “Are we a joke? Did I miss the memo about Blackness being added to corporate brand guidelines as a marketing strategy despite us not being the target market?"

She added, "Brands need to start being held accountable for how they engage with culture both online and offline.”

The post received nearly 1,500 reactions, 100 reposts, and 125 comments.

Duolingo did eventually credit Elle in a response to its own post, but, as is typically the case, the follow-up received far less engagement. The original post saw some 10 million views according to Twitter’s metrics, while the response had around 818,000.

Duolingo did not respond to a request for comment.