Save Duo.
Challenge: Based on 2021 D&AD New Blood brief for Duolingo. Open young adults’ eyes to the world of languages and inspire them to weave language learning into their daily routine, with an integrated campaign launching at the start of the school year.
Insight: Earned media is a key factor in Duolingo’s marketing, playing into the memes generated from the Duo owl’s infamously passive aggressive notifications and guilt tactics over missed lessons. The owl is intentionally designed to create an emotional attachment with users, with the brand leaning hard into the gamification aspect in comparing its mascot to Mario. So let’s go one step further and raise the stakes. Duo has been kidnapped. The more lessons users take, the closer they get to rescuing him. If you fail, Duo will be gone for good. You don’t want that guilt on your shoulders, do you?
Art Direction | Copy | Anika Utke
Campaign Launch
Duolingo’s active social media presence across Tiktok, Instagram, and Twitter keeps the brand very connected with their following, a fact this campaign uses to it’s advantage. At launch, app images, icons, and social media profiles will simultaneously update graphics with Duo’s image noticeably absent. Communication will be slow, allowing for users to notice and generate a trickle of social media buzz. Soon after, users will get a notification from Duolingo alerting them of Duo’s kidnapping.
How It Works
Progressing through lessons will bring players to checkpoints where they are challenged in a “semi-boss” battle that vary from timed lightning rounds or needing perfect scores. While the kidnappers will get away, successful players will receive a clue. The more they progress through lessons, the closer they get to Duo. As if losing a streak isn’t bad enough, players are incentivized to continue at risk of Duo being moved.
As Duo’s kidnappers cart him across the globe, each language offers unique clues. This encourages players to either try new languages or work together with other players across Duolingo forums and social media. An interactive community aspect will help sustain the campaign and bring in new players through word of mouth while also making current players more invested in Duolingo and more likely to keep up with their lessons post-campaign.
New phases of the hunt for Duo will feature community-wide events spanning multiple days which totals XP earned from completed lessons into a global pool. Everyone who plays contributes, whether they’ve finished one lesson or ten. The more who participate, the sooner the community wins the challenge and perhaps even saves Duo. Players who invite friends and family to join during such events receive double XP for themselves and their new arrivals. If the community does not reach the goal by the event’s deadline, Duo could be moved further away or disappear entirely.
This campaign builds a narrative with stakes to refresh the game for veterans and intrigue new players, while emphasizing the core of Duolingo: learning by gaming, continued progress, and community.