There’s something iN Duo’s blood… reveals he IS a Sumo descendant?
Client: Duolingo // 360 Activation, 2025
Role: Art Direction, Social Content Creative
What I did:
Art directed the full campaign arc — from the "Duo quits" teaser through the tournament event and post-event content
Directed illustrators on sumo lore visuals and coordinated animators and videographers on content production
Managed multiple creative workstreams simultaneously while keeping a consistent narrative and visual tone
Globally, Duo is one of the most iconic mascots, but the competition is tough in Japan: the country is full of cute mascots everywhere! In order to win Japanese people’s attention, he needs to make his mark the Japan way: by winning the Sumo tournament, against all the big mascots.
This tournament has brought in a one-in-a-lifetime experience to witness the most beloved characters interact (physically and brutally), which has excited thousands of fans to follow the tournament. Duo might have lost, but his greatness (at least in size) still remains in people’s hearts.
Duo’s Sumo arc has gathered over 90M impressions around social media, which is a concrete proof to remind him that Duo is still loved no matter what.
The Launch
We started the campaign by popping the news: Duo quits. He was more invested in finding out the special in himself than his 9-5 job.
And the news took the internet by storm.
Duo’s Sumo Arc
After the revelation in the DNA test that his ancestor was a great Yokozuna, Duo started to embrace the Sumo side in him seriously: He went through vigorous training, experienced the Sumo life, all for one goal: become the No. 1 Sumo mascot.
THE EVENT
Duo took it to the Dojo - he announced his Sumo tournament and called the nation’s best mascots for the ultimate showdown. Eight biggest mascots accepted the challenge!
The showdown recap of the Sumo madness:
The results:
90M total impressions
75K PR impressions
Bronze “Spikes Asia 2026”
