3. Trending Topics

Duo the Owl

TikTok has become a huge platform for brands and companies to showcase their product or service. I can’t count how many times I see sponsored TikToks on my FYP (for you page) within 10 minutes. Other companies approach TikTok with the intent of going viral. This technique is not guaranteed, but it costs less and so far has proven to be successful. Virality is random and social media strategists for these brand TikTok accounts take into consideration current trends to increase the chance of going viral.

One company that has done a very good job at going viral in hundreds of countries is Duolingo. While other companies struggle with keeping up the image of the brand and not violating copyright infringement by using certain songs, Duolingo scrapped all the rules. For those who don’t know, Duolingo is the world’s most popular language-learning platform. It is also the most downloaded education app in the world, with over 300 million users. The idea of the platform is to make learning a different language fun. According to their website, Duolingo is designed to feel like a game. It is completely free for users and also has a feature for teachers to link their accounts to students so they can track their progress. It currently teaches 40 distinct languages and is available in all 194 countries.

While scrolling through TikTok, I stumbled across a TikTok of Bed Bath and Beyond expressing their struggle with not using sounds that their boss does not approve of. In the comments, a bunch of other brands are agreeing with her. Having those rules and restrictions lessens the chance of virality. This is why Duolingo has been so successful in this category.   

@bedbathandbeyond

shout out to all the other social media managers 🤝

♬ bed bath and butterflies - Bed Bath & Beyond

Above is a TikTok trend, but because these different social media managers couldn’t use the sound, the manager of Bed Bath and Beyond came up with a solution. The Duolingo TikTok account has 3.7 million followers and over 70.3 million total likes. When you go to Duolingo’s account you notice that the manager uses the Duolingo bird as the “owner” of the account. The account posts stuff that walks the line of being funny and losing professionality. Which is the sole reason people love it. For the generation that is all about not conforming to typical normalities, Duo the Owl proves that you do not have to be so orderly and professional to achieve the goal. 

The most recent post from Duo is captioned “link in bio for Walmart Judge Judy lies @Stephen Chen #spanishorvanish #Duolingo #DuaLipa #judgejudy #lawyertok.” Below is the TikTok and also an explanation for anyone who does not follow. 

@duolingo link in bio for Walmart Judge Judy’s lies @Stephen Chen #spanishorvanish #Duolingo #DuaLipa #judgejudy #lawyertok ♬ Dramatic Music - 3:12 - BeardMusicStock

In the TikTok, Duo sneaks their phone into a daily legal briefing, the legal team decides that Duo is innocent of all the allegations and that Big Bird is framing Duo.

Duo the Owl also has a running joke where they express their crush on a famous artist, Dua Lipa. I assume the joke started because Duolingo is very similar to Dua Lipa spelling-wise. If a TikTok does not have Dua Lipa in the video you can guarantee Duo replied to a comment bringing her up. Below is just one of the many times Duo demonstrates their love for Dua. 

Duo is also very insistent on poop jokes. Something we thought we had moved on from in middle school is still very present on Duolingo’s TikTok account. To be fair, I don’t know if they will ever not be funny. Below is an example of Duo the Owl making a, probably out of line, definitely TMI, poop joke. “it stank in here #DuoDump” has got to be the caption of the year.

@duolingo it stank in here #DuoDump #youalmostgotthecheesetouch #DuaLipa #DulaPeep #Dualingo #comedy #trend ♬ original sound - Tik Toker

Duolingo’s TikTok account is not the only time the owl went viral. A couple of years back, memes of Duo harassing students went viral. To give a better explanation, the app encourages taking 5 minutes out of every day to study or learn more to keep your mind fresh. So, every so many hours Duolingo would send out a reminder to do your daily 5 minutes. The messages were innocent, but it was just so consistent and tenacious. This led to people making memes and editing the messages to look like threats. Below are a few examples of the memes that were circulating at the time. 

The Duolingo Twitter page at the time ran with the idea that the persona of Duo is unhinged. It became clear that the executives of Duolingo have a good sense of humor. I feel like the TikTok account does a good job at keeping that image persistent. Below are unedited tweets that the Duolingo account actually tweeted. 

 

Duolingo has figured out the key to Gen Z’s heart by utilizing trends to connect with their younger viewers. Compared to other companies and brands, Duo the owl has surpassed them in figuring out who their audience is and they have proven that on different platforms, as well. For TikTok being as new as it is, Duo the owl has adapted quickly.