Insight of the Day: Why did McDonald’s Brazil team up with Duolingo?
- InsightTrendsWorld
- Mar 14
- 6 min read
Why the Topic is Trending: The collaboration between McDonald’s Brazil and Duolingo has gained attention for its creative blend of food, humor, and language learning, tapping into Brazil’s love for digital trends and its culturally unique engagement with humor and memes. The campaign effectively combines pop culture, entertainment, and educational value, making it not just about food but an experience that resonates with Brazil’s digitally savvy audience.
Overview: McDonald’s Brazil has partnered with Duolingo to bring back the McFish sandwich, rebranded as McFish & Chips, in a campaign that cleverly uses Duolingo’s mascot, Duo the owl, to engage with local consumers. The campaign centers around humor and language learning, highlighting the challenge of ordering the meal in English. The duo of McDonald's and Duolingo taps into Brazil’s cultural trends, using language barriers and a fun ad to engage audiences in a relatable, shareable way. A drone show and influencer collaborations elevate the spectacle further.
Detailed Findings:
Partnership with Duolingo: The collaboration merges McDonald’s well-known brand with Duolingo’s charm, using Duo the owl to correct a customer’s pronunciation in the “Do you speak McFish?” ad.
Humor and Cultural Relevance: The campaign resonates with Brazil’s unique sense of humor, engaging consumers with language barriers and the fun challenge of trying to order McFish in English.
Engagement Strategy: McDonald’s and Duolingo utilized humor, memes, and influencer marketing to create excitement and anticipation. The campaign also featured a massive drone show in São Paulo, with 300 drones lighting up the night sky to promote McFish & Chips.
Education Meets Entertainment: The campaign is both educational (correcting pronunciation with Duo) and entertaining, blending language learning with food in a way that appeals to Brazilian audiences who engage with pop culture and digital trends.
Limited-Time Offering: The McFish & Chips meal is available for a limited time in Brazil, with promotional offers through the My McD loyalty program, incentivizing customers to engage with the campaign while earning rewards.
Key Takeaway: McDonald’s and Duolingo’s collaboration is a masterclass in how brands can use humor, pop culture, and digital trends to create memorable and shareable experiences. The campaign appeals to Brazil's digitally engaged population while blending education with entertainment, making the McFish & Chips experience more than just a meal—it's a cultural and interactive moment.
Main Trend: The main trend is Brand Collaboration with Cultural and Educational Engagement, where brands tap into pop culture and educational themes to create unique, experiential marketing campaigns.
Description of the Trend (Brand Collaboration with Cultural and Educational Engagement): This trend reflects the growing use of brand partnerships that combine entertainment, education, and cultural relevance to engage consumers. Brands are looking for new ways to interact with consumers beyond traditional advertising, creating experiences that blend learning, fun, and cultural elements.
Consumer Motivation: Consumers are motivated by the combination of entertainment, humor, and education. They seek engagement with brands that understand their cultural nuances and provide value beyond just a product—such as a learning opportunity or humorous content that they can share with others.
What is Driving the Trend:
Digital Engagement: Consumers are increasingly engaging with brands on social media, where humor, memes, and viral content thrive.
Pop Culture Influence: Consumers value brands that align with current digital trends, influencers, and cultural moments.
Education and Gamification: Brands are leveraging gamified learning experiences, which resonate with consumers who seek both fun and educational value in their interactions with products.
Motivation Beyond the Trend: Beyond entertainment and humor, this trend represents a shift toward interactive consumer experiences that make brands feel more relatable and approachable. The collaboration also hints at the growing importance of language skills in an increasingly globalized world, where consumers are motivated to engage with brands that challenge them to learn something new in a fun, engaging way.
Description of Consumers:
Age: Primarily Millennials and Gen Z, who are tech-savvy and actively engage with memes, digital trends, and gamified experiences.
Gender: The campaign appeals to all genders, particularly those who enjoy humorous and interactive content.
Income: Middle to upper-middle-income consumers who enjoy fast food but also appreciate humor and digital engagement.
Lifestyle: Consumers are digitally connected, participate in memes and viral trends, and enjoy fun, culturally relevant experiences that can be shared on social media.
Conclusions: The McDonald’s and Duolingo partnership effectively taps into cultural trends, combining food with education and entertainment in a way that engages Brazil’s digitally savvy consumers. The campaign is a perfect example of how brands can create a multi-dimensional experience that goes beyond product sales.
Implications for Brands:
Cultural Relevance: Brands should consider how cultural nuances can be incorporated into their campaigns to resonate with local audiences and increase engagement.
Educational Value: Incorporating educational aspects, such as language learning or skill-building, can create a deeper connection with consumers while offering them more than just a product.
Digital Trends: Brands can harness the power of memes, humor, and influencer collaborations to make their campaigns more shareable and relatable.
Implications for Society: This trend reflects how education and entertainment are blending in the digital age, where consumers expect brands to provide experiences that are not just transactional but also interactive and culturally relevant.
Implications for Consumers: Consumers benefit from campaigns that entertain and educate, offering them value beyond the product. This shift also encourages learning and cultural engagement in a fun, low-pressure way, making education more accessible and enjoyable.
Implication for Future: The future of marketing will likely continue to see more collaborations that blend entertainment, education, and cultural relevance. Brands will increasingly focus on creating interactive experiences that align with digital trends and offer meaningful value.
Consumer Trend (Brand Collaboration with Cultural and Educational Engagement): This trend reflects a shift towards campaigns that blend entertainment, education, and cultural relevance, creating a more interactive and engaging consumer experience. Brands are moving beyond traditional advertising to offer fun, educational, and shareable content.
Consumer Sub Trend (Language Learning as Entertainment): The sub-trend here is the gamification of language learning, where brands like Duolingo are making educational content fun, accessible, and part of mainstream entertainment and brand campaigns.
Big Social Trend (Digital Engagement and Interactive Experiences): Digital engagement continues to rise, with consumers increasingly expecting brands to engage with them in ways that are culturally relevant, interactive, and entertaining, as seen in the McDonald’s and Duolingo partnership.
Worldwide Social Trend (Pop Culture-Driven Marketing): Globally, brands are tapping into pop culture, memes, and digital trends to create viral marketing campaigns that resonate deeply with today’s consumers.
Social Drive (Desire for Fun and Learning): The social drive behind this trend is the desire for experiences that are both fun and educational. Consumers want to learn new things, but they prefer to do so in a way that feels enjoyable, relatable, and culturally relevant.
Learnings for Brands to Use in 2025: Brands should focus on creating fun, engaging, and educational campaigns that resonate with local cultures and tap into the digital, social media-driven landscape. Integrating humor and cultural relevance can make campaigns more shareable and effective.
Strategy Recommendations for Brands to Follow in 2025:
Collaborate with digital platforms and influencers to create interactive, culturally relevant campaigns.
Use humor and educational content to make your brand more relatable and engaging.
Tap into current cultural trends and digital moments to ensure your campaigns resonate with modern consumers.
Final Sentence (Key Concept): McDonald’s and Duolingo’s collaboration is a perfect example of Brand Collaboration with Cultural and Educational Engagement, where food, language learning, and humor merge to create an unforgettable consumer experience.
Final Note:
Core Trend: Brand Collaboration with Cultural and Educational Engagement — Blending entertainment, education, and cultural relevance to create multi-dimensional consumer experiences.
Core Strategy: Interactive, Shareable Experiences — Creating campaigns that engage consumers with humor, education, and cultural relevance, making them relatable and shareable.
Core Industry Trend: Digital Engagement and Interactive Experiences — Brands are increasingly focusing on engaging consumers in ways that go beyond traditional advertising, creating interactive and educational experiences.
Core Consumer Motivation: Desire for Fun, Education, and Cultural Relevance — Consumers are looking for campaigns that entertain, educate, and connect with their cultural experiences.
Final Conclusion: The McDonald’s and Duolingo campaign exemplifies how brands can leverage humor, education, and digital trends to create memorable, interactive experiences that resonate with today’s digitally engaged consumers.
Core Trend Detailed: Brand Collaboration with Cultural and Educational Engagement shows how combining food, language learning, and pop culture can result in innovative marketing campaigns that entertain, educate, and connect with consumers on a deeper level.
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