In Japan, where saving face is a cultural imperative, making mistakes is feared and avoided. Duolingo, the world’s #1 language learning app, wanted to create a cut-through activation with big PR potential that could generate awareness for the brand, inviting potential learners to embrace their blunders while on the app, eventually changing the perception of mistake-making in the country.
Planning & Execution
The campaign launched with a social hero film, teasing the museum's contents with a guided visit. It also invited Twitter users to share with @Duolingo_Japan any interesting mistranslations they came across. From all the submissions, only eight were selected to join the rest of the artworks, and those who sent them were rewarded with a free month of Super Duolingo.
The Museum of Wonky English opened in Harajuku, Tokyo, for ten days and was free of charge for anyone wanting to be blown away by the beauty of wonky English. Each sign, menu, item of clothing, or PSA in the collection was a replica of a real-life object and rendered in great detail, just like in a conceptual art show. Every piece was exhibited with a Japanese back translation and the "correct" English phrase, transforming each visit into a language lesson.
Effectiveness / Results
What started as a local brand activation was picked up by 80+ media outlets worldwide, racking up 4 million views and an Earned Media Value of $88M for a media spend of $0, becoming Duolingo's most PR'd activation in Asia to date. More importantly, we started a conversation about the inevitability and importance of mistakes for learning, a first step towards normalizing them.