Duolingo’s popular mascot — Duo the Owl — got its heavenly wings a few days ago after the language-learning platform announced its death.

Killing a popular character usually does not bode well on the popularity meter but Duolingo pulled off the stunt with a cause of death that’s outlandish. “He probably died waiting for you to do your lessons, but what do we know,” announced the official handle of the company on X or what we formerly knew as Twitter, which too has killed its avian mascot after an eccentric billionaire named Elon Musk came into the picture. Duolingo CEO (and “Duo’s Daddy”) Luis von Ahn in his eulogy said Duo was hit by a Cybertruck. “It seems that every character at Duolingo is dead…. I guess in the end, Duo finally answered the question he posed to so many of us: Spanish or Vanish.”

Duo Keyshauna Renee Lingo, born in 1000 BC, was the wise and witty face of the company since its creation in 2011, motivating users to complete their daily language lessons. Duo’s death has not gone down well with the similarly-named pop star Dua Lipa. “Til’ death Duo part,” the Levitating singer wrote on X.

Since Ahn’s announcement, Duolingo’s monthly active Android users jumped 25 per cent year over year worldwide, according to Similarweb, a digital market intelligence provider. Similarweb also said that global downloads on Android jumped 38 per cent the day after the campaign, and web searches increased by 58 per cent.

And don’t forget, Duo’s “death by Cybertruck” is making fans of Duolingo channel their anger towards Elon Musk’s empire and the steps he is taking, like DOGE ending many foreign aid programmes, consumer protections and global health initiatives.

Companies like Hilton, Chipotle and Netflix are clawing into some of the buzz. American restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings has posted a video showing Duo’s green feathers leading to a tray of its popular dish. Even the World Health Organisation responded to Duo’s cause of death — “One thing we know for sure: It’s not smallpox, because the disease has been eradicated since 1980.” Accounts for popular games like Halo and Assassin’s Creed created images of Duo being mourned by players in the games.

Last year, Duolingo reported a total of 8.6 million paid subscribers, up nearly 50 per cent from 2023.

The way Duo’s “death” has been used in a marketing campaign shows how people want to be entertained. Many companies are using their mascot to win fans.

In 2020, another brand killed off its mascot: Mr Peanut was roasted by Planters in an ad that ran before that year’s Super Bowl. However, he was resurrected as a baby nut in an ad that ran during the game.