The Death of Duo: A Social Media Success from Duolingo

Would you have ever expected to read the words “Faking my death was the test and you all passed” on a brand’s social media channel? Probably not.

Duolingo is an example of a brand that consistently gets socials right. Its online presence is spearheaded by an extremely insistent, seemingly omnipresent green owl mascot named Duo.

Duo has made a name for himself on Instagram and TikTok in recent years for his threatening lesson reminders and snarky tone of voice. Whether he’s jumping on the latest viral dance, arguing with Duolingo’s legal team or pining after pop star Dua Lipa, his content keeps the brand’s social channels relevant, entertaining, and full of personality.

So, it came as a shock to Duo’s 22.3 million followers that the beloved bird had been murdered.

A brief timeline of events:

11th February 2025

Duolingo announced on social media that Duo had passed, and that the authorities were investigating his death. The message included a dig that Duo might have died waiting for users to do their language lessons.

17^th February 2025

Following several posts about other Duolingo characters mourning Duo’s death, the brand’s social channels directed users to bringback.duolingo.com, with the caption “We have discovered a new lead in unearthing the mystery of Duo’s death. Please contribute where you see fit.”

The link took users to a webpage showing a goal of 50 billion XP, or “experience points,” which users earn every time they complete a task in the app.

24^th February 2025

A little less than two weeks after his death, Duolingo posted a video across all of its social media platforms depicting Duo stepping out of the same coffin his character friends had put him in just days ago, with the words “Legends never die”. It was clear at that point that Duo had returned.

So, what did faking the mascot’s death achieve?

First and foremost, it got people talking. Whilst widespread recognition is a strength, it also creates a unique set of marketing hurdles. Brands such as Duolingo have to fight to stay relevant, authentic, and manage the sheer scale of public conversation, all while innovating to keep their well-established presence up to date.

Social media mentions data from Meltwater illustrates just how successful the PR stunt was in driving engagement and conversation. In the five days before Duo’s death, Duolingo saw an average of 11,000 mentions a day. In the five days following, the average soared to nearly 60,000 a day.

Secondly, it boosted Duolingo’s product engagement. Unlike with smaller, lesser-known brands – the primary marketing, PR and social goal isn’t necessarily to increase brand awareness. Instead it’s to increase brand engagement.

Duolingo spokesperson Monica Earle told NPR: “At its core, this campaign was about engaging our community in a way that only Duolingo can – by making entertaining content that reminds our fans to do their lesson.”

And that’s exactly what happened. In addition to the social media frenzy Duo’s death caused, the website created to revive Duo surpassed its goal of 50 billion XP, totalling 50,921,342,438 XP across 15 different countries. With the average lesson on Duolingo awarding 10 XP, that’s just over 5 billion Duolingo lessons in only a few weeks. Talk about a dedicated audience.

On the 19^th February 2025, Lipton Ice Tea posted on their official Instagram that it was discontinuing its popular peach flavour.

Given the timing, it seems likely Lipton was inspired by Duolingo. However, the difference between killing off a brand mascot and discontinuing an actual product are massive, so it’s understandable Lipton riled up its peach tea drinkers – myself included.

With what could go down as the quickest retraction of a social media campaign ever seen, Lipton were quick to confirm that peach iced tea isn’t really going anywhere. This all happened under 24 hours with many social users pointing out that they saw the retraction before the original stunt. If you’re going to make bold moves, own them and stick to them.

In addition, for a campaign like this to work, it needs to be relevant and have a purpose.

Not only was it obvious copycat behaviour, but there didn’t seem to be a real purpose behind it. Duo’s initial mystique and gradual build-up to getting users to contribute to an XP goal made sense. The goal was to boost app engagements and get users to complete lessons, a message that is synonymous with the mascot’s presence on social media.

But what was Lipton’s goal? How long was the campaign supposed to last? What were the measures of success? Had Lipton considered how its customers would perceive the stunt?

Lipton also appeared to overlook whether the stunt worked alongside the brand’s usual social media content – which is all focused on people’s love for its iced tea – peach flavour especially. Against this backdrop, the move made no sense to iced tea lovers like me. You can have a fantastic idea for a campaign, but if it jars with your current activity, personality, or the role you play in audience’s lives – do not follow through with it.

• A campaign only works if it’s authentic and purposeful. The “death” of Duo served a clear purpose, to drive app engagement by incentivising users to complete lessons. The 50 billion XP goal was directly tied to the product, making the campaign feel relevant and purposeful, as well as entertaining.
• Know your audience inside out. Whilst Duolingo’s campaign was still a risk, it fitted perfectly with its established, irreverent tone of voice and chimed with the role the brand and its product plays in audiences lives, which was key to its success.
• Bold moves require commitment. If you’re planning on making a bold move, own it. Don’t make a social media manager making a mistake or posting on the wrong date the scapegoat. Lipton’s quick retraction shows a lack of confidence and commitment, further damaging brand credibility.

To learn more about our audience-first, creative and purposeful social media services, get in touch at susannah@energypr.co.uk.