When it comes to learning a new language, Duolingo’s latest campaign underscores the importance of consistency. The brand prioritizes reminding learners to engage in daily lessons without fail. However, during the holiday season, amidst bustling plans with friends and family, push notifications get overlooked, reminder emails remain unread, and daily language sessions slip down the priority list.
Confronted with this challenge, the global language learning app, Duolingo, sought a creative solution through collaboration with the creative agency UltraSuperNew. They drew inspiration from one of Japan’s intriguing Christmas traditions: enjoying a bucket of fried chicken as a Christmas Eve meal (a tradition so popular that supplies often run out weeks before December 24th).
Krispy Fried Duo (KFD) is an alternative to the traditional fried chicken bucket, made (so they campaign says) with actual parts from Duolingo’s mascot owl, Duo. Making the ultimate sacrifice, Duo volunteered his tastiest and greenest pieces, had them chopped, deep-fried, and placed inside a KFD (Krispy Fried Duo) bucket, and offered them to those exemplary learners that completed their lessons even on Christmas Eve.
The campaign started as an influencer-led push in the week leading up to December 24th. TikTok and X posts showed a series of entertaining content launching Duo’s lightbulb moment in offering Krispy Fried Duo to those in need of fried delights. See the film here: Another video featured one of the biggest cooking influencers in Japan helping Duo come up with the right recipe.
There’s even a spicy challenge where Duo personally delivered a super hot version of the KFD bucket and challenged an influencer to eat it while doing Duolingo, as punishment for skipping his lessons.
Finally, on December 24th, when almost every other bucket in the city was sold out, Duo himself came to Shibuya, Tokyo’s busiest district, and handed out buckets of KFD to those who showed him on the Duolingo app that they had done their lessons that day.
