Because Duolingo aims to help people function in real-world situations, “we thought, what if we gave learners even more conversation practice through five years of full immersion, with no hiding from Duo the Owl,” said George Audi, head of global partnerships at Duolingo.
That last statement is a bit of foreshadowing, according to the cheeky video that announces the stunt. If cruisers don’t keep up their lessons—during each of the 1,826 days on the ship—“the owl will deny you the knowledge of eternal peace,” per the narration.
To illustrate the point, the video shows a careless teenager, who obviously lacked a strong study ethic, being ejected through a plexiglass chute. Where does he go? Presumably to a watery grave, but remember, this is just a joke.
Some related merchandise, though, is real. Consumers can buy resort wear—a branded bucket hat, a shorts-and-shirt set, and a beach towel—at the Duolingo e-commerce store beginning today.
Also real: Duolingo is also offering a free month of its service, to those who think the faux five years is too much of a lift, and Carnival is running various special offers for shorter voyages.
A reality-blurring history
Duolingo, with long-standing comedy bona fides that include “killing” and reviving its owl mascot Duo recently, launched its April Fools’ shenanigans in 2019. The brand has amping up the “reality-blurring trickery” with each campaign, per a LinkedIn post from CMO Emmanuel Orssaud, who called the work “effective brand marketing,” along with a way to cement loyalty from its fans, target new consumers, and recruit creative talent.
Previous efforts have included “The Duolingo Push,” where Duo showed up IRL to lord over people who were ignoring their digital notifications. The brand, which has made toilet paper and filmed faux legal commercials, worked with Peacock on a memorable (but fake) dating reality series called “Love Language.”