Duolingo's owl mascot Duo faked its death—but why?
What's the story
In a surprising turn of events, Duo, the owl mascot of language-learning platform Duolingo, has made a comeback. Yes, this resurrection comes just two weeks after the company announced his death.
The green mascot has been the face of Duolingo since its inception in 2011 and is known for his persistent lesson reminders and witty social media presence.
Strategy
Death and resurrection: A marketing strategy
Duo's death was announced on February 11, with Duolingo implying he may have died waiting for users to finish their lessons.
The company then shared a series of posts depicting Duo being hit by a Tesla Cybertruck and other mascots mourning his loss.
But then came messages asking users to complete daily tasks in the app to "bring Duo back," hinting at a possible resurrection.
User engagement
Duo's return linked to user engagement
On February 17, Duolingo sent users to a website named bringback.duolingo.com, which featured a target of 50 billion XP or "experience points." These are the points earned by users on completing tasks in the app.
A week later, Duo returned with a video of him coming out of his coffin and walking down the street.
The website now reveals that users worldwide have collectively earned over 50 billion XP points, suggesting user engagement contributed to Duo's return.
Revelation
Truth behind the staged death
In a video, Duo revealed the truth behind his staged death. He said that his main goals were to get people to do their lessons and get pop star Dua Lipa's attention.
To achieve these goals, he decided on a drastic measure - faking his own death.
The video also showed him admitting that the death video was edited for dramatic effect and social commentary.
Campaign success
Duo's resurrection campaign: A success
Duolingo spokesperson Monica Earle told NPR that the campaign was about engaging their community in a unique way by creating entertaining content that reminds fans to do their lessons.
Matt Williams, former CEO of the Martin Agency, saw Duolingo's campaign as successful. He said by using Duo's resurrection to motivate more users to do their lessons, Duolingo boosted engagement with their product in a way consistent with Duo's character.