The Duolingo owl is the most controversial thing we've ever built.

@theburnouts

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SoundTikTok sound · light beams

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Why it worked

The post leverages a relatable and often memed aspect of a popular app (Duolingo's owl) to tell an engaging origin story, framing a marketing success as an interesting anecdote that resonates with a broad audience.

Summary

This slideshow explains how the Duolingo owl, initially chosen as a symbol of knowledge, became a controversial and beloved mascot. The owl's personality and presence evolved through app icon usage, user perception, memes, and TikTok marketing, ultimately generating significant free advertising value for Duolingo.

Structure

1Introduction of the Duolingo owl as controversial
2Explanation of the owl's origin and design choices
3

Original caption

Watch our full episode with Duolingo CEO Luis Von Ahn at the link in our bio! ❤️‍🔥 #theburnouts #duolingo #duo #marketingstrategy #memes

More from @theburnouts

Product placement

Duolingo (app): acts - it is the subject of the discussion about its mascot and marketing strategy. Removing it would change the video's topic. Duolingo (mascot): acts - it is discussed as a marketing tool and personality. Removing it would change the video's topic.

Call to action

Watch our full episode with Duolingo CEO Luis Von Ahn at the link in our bio!

On-screen text

The Duolingo owl is the most controversial thing we've ever built. what do you mean? when we launched Duolingo, we knew we wanted a mascot. we chose an owl because it's a symbol of knowledge. then we made it green for the pettiest reason. to troll my co-founder because he hates the color. at some point, someone decided the owl would be the app icon. so every notification shows the owl's face right next to it... and suddenly it feels like the message is coming from the owl. that's when people started attributing a personality to it. whatever the notification said... people treated it like the owl said it. yeah... our notifications started getting more and more pushy. everyone started saying the owl is "passive aggressive." then memes took off about the owl doing anything to make you practice. at that point, the owl stopped being a logo... and became a presence. we rode the momentum and made a mascot suit for TikTok. and that's how the owl turned into free marketing. we generate millions of free ad value a year from it!