“Authorities are currently investigating his cause of death and we are cooperating fully,” the learning app’s announcement states, adding, “We’re aware he had many enemies.”
A few hours after announcing Duo's death, Duolingo posted a video of the owl’s “funeral,” showing mascots Zari and Lily placing Duo's coffin in the back of a pickup truck. The brand’s Instagram post announcing the death received nearly half a million likes at the time of writing. Duo is one of the most popular brand mascots on social media and is no stranger to pulling off marketing stunts, including a viral TikTok stunt at a Charlie XCX concert last September.
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A Duolingo spokesperson elaborated on Duo’s passing, telling Ad Age in an email: “We can confirm the statements in our recent social posts are true. It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved mascot, Duo the Owl. For years, he tirelessly reminded millions to do their language lessons—sometimes with gentle nudges, sometimes with sheer, unhinged persistence. But even the most relentless of birds can only take so much.”
Like Duolingo’s social media announcement, the Duolingo spokesperson also indicated Duo’s death likely wasn’t due to natural causes or an unfortunate accident. “There is an ongoing investigation that we cannot comment on extensively at this time,” the spokesperson said. “We know no owl as dedicated as Duo just drops dead without a story. Keep an eye on our social channels as we uncover the shocking (and possibly absurd) truth behind his untimely demise.”
Duolingo is handling the campaign in-house, which is where most of the brand’s short-form social content from its global account comes from, the spokesperson said.