Can Duo, Duolingo’s mascot owl, really be dead? The company behind the language learning app is claiming that to be the case, but we suspect this may just be a publicity stunt. After all, how do you kill a cartoon owl that was never alive in the first place?
Duolingo Kills Duo, but the Joke May Backfire
On pretty much every social media platform you care to mention (as well as some you won’t), Duolingo has announced the death of Duo. Duolingo is an extremely popular language-learning app with free and paid tiers, and Duo is (or potentially was) its owl mascot.
4 Reasons Why I Finally Bought Super Duolingo
After years of free use, I finally went Super on Duolingo.
In the posts on social media, Duolingo says that “Duo, formally known as The Duolingo Owl, is dead.” The company goes onto say that “Authorities are currently investigating his cause of death, and we are cooperating fully.”
The next part is where it gets a little weird, as Duolingo asks that you “refrain from sharing why you hate him in the comments.” Before adding that if you do feel inclined to share, “please also include your credit card number so we can automatically sign you up for Duolingo Max in his memory.”
That line about including your credit card number is obviously intended as a joke, but we can’t help but wonder whether it could backfire on Duolingo. Because, in case you need reminding of such a common sense rule, don’t ever share your credit card number on social media!
If anyone is dumb enough to actually share their credit card details, then that won’t be a good look for either the individual concerned OR the company. Or, more likely, the social media manager who came up with the idea for this publicity stunt in the first place.
As Publicity Stunts Go, This Is a Good One
Of course, we’re assuming that this is one big publicity stunt, but we don’t actually know for sure. If it is, expect Duo to be found alive and well within a couple of days. And if not, then maybe Duolingo is preparing to launch a new mascot to replace Duo.
The 10 Best Language Learning Apps That Really Work
Becoming a polyglot is so much easier with these apps to help you out.
Duo has been a big part of Duolingo’s social media strategy over the last few years. And the company has attempted to paint him as some kind of unhinged anti-hero. So this publicity plays into that somewhat, especially if he is revealed to have faked his own death.
