Duolingo’s “Bad Bunny 101” Spanish Class

Source: Duolingo

Bad Bunny 101.

Can I tell you how absolutely obsessed I am with this Duolingo campaign, timed in preparation for the Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show?

I always say that “marketing is a spectator sport” so let’s learn from this idea because it is a lesson in cultural relevance, strategic timing, and audience expansion rolled into one genius play.

Throughout January, Duolingo offered “Bad Bunny 101” which was an online Spanish course where students could learn the Spanish/English translations of Bad Bunny's lyrics ahead of his Super Bowl Halftime Show. Genius move because the brand recognized that a huge portion of the American audience loves Bad Bunny but doesn't speak Spanish. The brand recognized the gap and filled it, and in doing so they opened up an entirely new audience to their platform.

Let's break down the strategy here …

Cultural Timing: The Super Bowl is the biggest cultural moment of the year, and with Bad Bunny as the world’s largest streaming artist as its Halftime Show performer, it was even bigger this year. Duolingo showed up to help people enjoy the moment to the maximum extent possible.

Audience Targeting: Duolingo placed ads for the “class” on Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM, and SoundCloud where Bad Bunny fans and those newly exploring fans actually listen. The Brand also placed ads during the Grammy Awards when Bad Bunny was winning big time. Precision targeting!

Solving a Real Need: Non-Spanish speakers needed realistic help understanding the lyrics, whether they realized it or not so Duolingo created the need and positioned itself as the solution.

Fun Over Formality: The class is actually just short, playful snippets with the Duolingo mascot rocking Bad Bunny's signature hat from his album, making it super easy and fun to engage. Very welcoming.

Source: Duolingo

I am dying to see the enrollment numbers in January partly because I’m betting they were sky high with new users. But I gotta say that there’s no way that those classes should end on February 8th. The Halftime Show has sparked a movement to dissect every morsel of content from every scene and every song … so people are going to want to continue to translate the lyrics.

Bad Bunny 101 should live on and on!

For those of us in marketing … how about a little challenge for us all? What's the cultural moment your brand is sleeping on right now that you can activate against? Right now!

What's your experience? JIM