Duolingo and FRED & FARID Shanghai turn “Duo Energy” into a viral summer trilogy

This summer, Duolingo stepped into the heart of Chinese digital culture, while staying unmistakably, recognizably itself. In collaboration with FRED & FARID Shanghai, the brand delivered a trilogy of campaigns on Douyin and RED, sparking more than 17.9 million views, over 745,000 likes, and 400,000 reposts between June and August 2025.

From the outset, Duolingo’s ambition was not just to enter the Chinese digital space, but to see its playful, irreverent DNA brought to life through Duo on China’s social platforms. The partnership with FRED & FARID Shanghai, launched in 2024, set out to do more than adapt: it was about co-creating a new dialect for Duo, where humor, unpredictability, and a passion for learning would genuinely resonate in local feeds.

Months of iteration turned “Duo energy” into a China-native register: fastertainment, moments of surprise, and self-aware storytelling made the character feel local without losing its core. Duo moved from brand icon to pop-culture participant, fluent in Chinese Gen Z conversation.

Three Acts in the Summer’s Social Soap Opera
Together, these three chapters developed by FRED & FARID Shanghai helped shape one of the most discussed stories on Chinese social media this summer. Each act showcased a different facet of Duo’s personality, blending Duolingo’s brand spirit with cultural codes that resonated across Douyin and RED. Built as a social soap opera, each chapter set up the next: Sichuan face-changing became a metaphor for Duo’s ability to transform and play with identities; Duo’s wedding with Luckin Coffee took everyone by surprise, becoming the summer love affair no one knew they were missing, where coffee and language learning proved to be the ultimate soulmates ; monk-mode training skipped the honeymoon for discipline, reframing streaks as a personal commitment to practice.

Act I – Owl of Many Masks
Duo opens the trilogy by “dropping the mask” through Sichuan face-changing, ​ a clear, one-gesture shorthand for switching languages. Duo channels the legendary art of Sichuan opera, embodying Duolingo’s spirit of transformation and curiosity. Mask-switching, like language-switching, becomes a playful ritual, introducing Duo as both student and performer with over 1.4 million views to show for it.

Act II – Duo’s Wedding (with Luckin Coffee)
The second act staged Duo’s “wedding,” imagined as a playful summer love affair no one saw coming, brought to life through a collaboration with China’s coffee giant Luckin. The marriage theme became July’s most viral stunt in China. with limited-edition drinks, collectible cups and cards, long lines at stores, and countless creator remixes. Across Duolingo’s official posts, the arc delivered 12.75 million views, 587,200 likes, and 361,200 reposts, with one video peaking at 4.64 million. Products sold out within days, and the tone remained irreverent, self-aware, and culturally precise, reinforcing Duo as a local character rather than just an international mascot.

Act III – Duo Grandmaster (Monk-Mode Training)
No honeymoon. Coming right after the wedding arc, Duo shifts from vows to caffeine to vows to practice: a Shaolin-inspired monk-mode training that reframes the streak as daily drills. Across Duolingo’s official posts the chapter delivered 3.783 million views, 121.6K likes, and 47K reposts (best single video at 2.484 million).

“Cringe isn’t a stunt, it’s a craft,” said Feng Huang, President and Co-founder at FRED & FARID Shanghai. “When it’s culturally precise and the audience is in on it, people never forget. And yes, they download the app. We’re not doing marketing in China for Duolingo, we’re creating pop culture moments. Duolingo speaks fluent feed: fast, funny, memorable.”