Ad Nut has seen many things in advertising: detergent mascots that look like nightmare fuel, brands mistaking purpose for personality, and humans attempting to sell “intimacy underwear” that doubles as Netflix. But even Ad Nut was not prepared for the sight of Duolingo’s deranged green owl attempting to sumo-wrestle Sonic the Hedgehog. Yes, reader. This is real life. Or at least as real as anything involving a six-foot-tall corporate bird can be.
Creative arm UltraSuperNew and production house Tetsudau decided that the best way to promote a language app was to plop its mascot into a faux-grand sumo ring against the biggest names in Japanese brand iconography—Pac-Man, Donpen, Ponta, and others who frankly did not sign up to be body-slammed by a sociopathic avian. Titled Duo’s Sumo Showdown, the work “aims to raise Duolingo Japan’s profile” by leaning into the country’s yuru-kyara obsession.
Ad Nut admires Japan’s weird and wonderful mascot culture and gets the hype behind the popularity of Hello Kitty, Doraemon, and Pikachu. But Duolingo’s owl is not cute. Duo is an unhinged reminder app with the soul of a debt collector: "Finish your Spanish lesson or else”. Ad Nut has long suspected that if users do not finish their Spanish lessons, Duo will appear at the window with a baseball bat. So, of course, the next logical step was sumo.
The press release takes itself very seriously:
“This was our most challenging social campaign ever in Japan, and we knew it had to be something iconic. Sumo and mascot culture are both deeply loved here, so we threw Duo into the ring to see what chaos he could create,” said Bunrei Yamane, social media manager, Duolingo Japan.
Ad Nut would argue Duo has been creating chaos since the app launched, mostly in the form of push notifications that read like death threats.
Andrés Aguilar, Creative Director at UltraSuperNew, added:
“For a mascot, Japan is the big leagues. The competition is fierce, the cuteness level off-the-charts, and the fanbases are die-hard. So, to give Duo a shot at that coveted top of mind, we leaned on upper-body strength, a bit of slapping, and a whole lot of stomping.”
The spectacle is entertaining, Ad Nut will reluctantly admit. Duolingo understands virality better than most brands. And in an attention economy where everything is fighting for eyeballs, a hulking owl sumo-slamming a discount store penguin is, regrettably, iconic. UltraSuperNew went overboard with the marketing commitment. They organised a parody press conference, the mascots training session, and the sumo showdown was an actual live event in Shinjuku with a hundred-plus attendees. The campaign even trended on X. (No small feat considering that platform is now mostly conspiracy memes and people arguing about US politics).
Personally, Ad Nut would rather learn Japanese by watching Kurosawa films with subtitles than by watching Pac-Man get flattened by a green owl with rage issues.
Also, who actually won this sumo showdown?
CREDITS
Duolingo:
Sho Mizutani, Director of Country Marketing
Bunrei Yamane, Social Media Manager for Duolingo Japan
UltraSuperNew:
Francois Claverie, Executive Creative Director
Andrés Aguilar, Creative Director
Oguzcan Kaganoguzbeyoglu (Ozy), Associate Creative Director
Utsumi Tetsuya, Sr Art Director
Anh Tran, Junior Art Director
William Matsuda, Jr Graphic Designer
Shota Kawanabe, Jr Creative
Milla Dytham, Creative Intern
Rinka Ueno, Copywriter
Nobuaki Nogamoto, Copywriter
Alex Schmidt, Assistant Producer
Takanori Sumi, Account Director
Justyna Jakubik, Account Manager
Lisa Kerr, Content Strategist
Abbey Kruska, Content PlannerBelle Sim, Sr Designer
Haruna Akashi, Editor
Ayana Honjo, Creative Intern
 Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'. |
