The Duolingo owl has died. Why corporations love killing their mascots
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The Duolingo owl has died. Why corporations love killing their mascots
Corporate mascots may just have one of the most precarious jobs in marketing.
The latest casualty: the Duolingo owl, a sassy multilingual bird who met his tragic fate after a car accident.
On Tuesday, the language-learning app Duolingo announced the owl’s death, calling on people to do a Duolingo lesson in lieu of flowers. Soon after, the company released video proof of the owl’s untimely demise, showing that he had been hit by what appears to be a Tesla cybertruck, ramming him so hard that he flies into the gates of hell.
UPDATE: Reward for whoever can identify the driver. Please post any leads on Twitter.
— Duolingo (@duolingo) February 12, 2025
Thank you for your patience with us during these trying times. #Ripduo pic.twitter.com/zv8QxtNh9E
Many companies have moved away from mascots because it’s becoming increasingly difficult for these characters, which are sometimes out of touch or even offensive, to appeal to diverse audiences, said Linda Ferrell of Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business.
Some of the lucky ones who survive have still been the victims of unrepentant marketers. In the late aughts, Jack in the Box launched a “Hang in there Jack” ad campaign, which followed Jack’s recovery after he was hit by a bus.
And back in 2020, the Planters mascot Mr. Peanut died sacrificing himself to save his friends after a road accident. However, Mr. Peanut was later reborn as Baby Nut after the Kool-Aid man shed a single tear on his gravesite.
As you’d expect, the purpose of these injuries or deaths is to drum up attention.
“Oftentimes, a brand will rely on something like this when they feel they need to revive or revitalize a brand or a mascot, or maybe they’re kind of out of the conversation in some way,” said Mathew Isaac, a marketing professor at the Seattle University Albers School of Business.
Mr. Peanut, for example, is a mascot for a brand that’s more than a century old. “To some extent, that did work, because there was conversation around it,” Isaac said.
But Duolingo’s campaign is unusual because of how successful the brand already is. The company’s stock price reached a record high this month and its social media accounts have attracted a large number of followers, Isaac pointed out.
This marketing gimmick aligns with the brand’s image, which has been described as both “unhinged” and “wholesome,” Isaac said. “It’s not your standard corporate marketing,” he said.
Duolingo’s marketing also tends to focus on “narratives” and “extended storylines,” he added. For example, Duo has frequently expressed his unrequited love for the pop singer Dua Lipa (who is now mourning his death).
“I think some people really do like this character and the brand. And sometimes when you make a change, it really can make people think about how much they like a brand and what it means to them,” Isaac said.
These morbid campaigns don’t always pan out. They may catch attention in the short run, but in Planters’ case, the reaction to baby nut wasn’t very favorable, Isaac said.
Duolingo may have more luck. The company is using its mascot’s death to promote its lessons, claiming that doing them could revive the green bird.
“I think they are using it as a way to build even more engagement, and I think that could be an effective strategy for them,” Isaac said.
Duolingo loves its storylines, and this latest marketing stunt is a familiar one. It’s reminiscent of the “comic book death” trope, Isaac said.
“You have a superhero that will die and then, invariably, they’ll return,” he said.
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