Duolingo’s Duo the Owl Returns From the Dead

You can’t keep a good owl down: Duolingo’s owl mascot Duo, who met his demise on Feb. 11, has apparently survived his encounter with a Tesla Cybertruck after all.

Duo was resurrected on the company’s social channels Monday, with posts featuring a video of a person in a Duo mask and neon green suit busting out of a coffin, a text overlay reading “legends never die,” and the caption, “Y’all really think I’d let a Cybertruck take me out?”

“Duo is officially back!” Duolingo said in a statement shared with CNET. “After a global effort to revive him, our favorite green owl has returned—though how he came back varies across different markets.

“We’re not done telling this story just yet—more details on what really happened to Duo will be revealed soon.”

Duo’s death was used as a morbid marketing tool of sorts, with the company’s site urging visitors to sign up for lessons to help “bring Duo back before it’s too late.”

The five countries that earned the most experience points, which Duolingo awards to users who practice a language via its platform, were the U.S., Germany, Brazil, China, and India.

It’s not the first brand to kill, then resurrect its mascot: Nut maker Planters ran a similar marketing stunt in 2020, killing off beloved mascot Mr. Peanut and then bringing him back as #BabyNut in a Super Bowl LIV spot.

This year’s Super Bowl spurred Duo’s journey to the afterlife and his return, as Duolingo sided with halftime show star Kendrick Lamar and shared posts across Instagram, TikTok, and X poking fun at Canadian hip-hop star Drake, Lamar’s rival.

Duo left this world two days after the Big Game, with Duolingo posting, “Authorities are currently investigating his cause of death, and we are cooperating fully. We’re aware he had many enemies, but we kindly ask that you refrain from sharing why you hate him in the comments.”

The brand also changed its social media icon to a dead Duo with crosses over his eyes, mentioned in its obituary that authorities were “looking into a Canadian rapper,” hosted a funeral where guests were asked to “do a Duolingo lesson” rather than sending flowers, and jokingly asked Instagram users to honor Duo’s memory by including their credit card numbers in the comments to automatically sign up for a Duolingo Max subscription.

Duolingo kept it going on Feb. 12, with posts including a video of Duo being hit by a Cybertruck in reverse, and tributes on social from Duo’s longtime crush, Dua Lipa, as well as brands including Chipotle, Halo, Instacart, KitKat, LinkedIn, Netflix, Subway, Tayto Chips, and the World Health Organization.