DUOLINGO | SHANGHAI TAKEOVER
How local can a global brand go? This local.
The Shanghainese: 10 millions speakers
A dialect even Mandarin speakers struggle to understand.
Duolingo’s second Chinese dialect, after cantonese in 2022.
On October 15, Duolingo China launched a course in Shanghainese.
Not Mandarin - the city’s own dialect.
About 50 lessons, from street food to office talk.
Our job: make the whole city feel it.
We landed a giant Duo on the Museum of Art Pudong. A language app on a museum rooftop - because a dialect is culture, not content.
We wrapped the buses Shanghai actually rides - routes 15, 20, 23 and 24. Route 20 has been running since 1928. If Shanghainese lives anywhere, it’s on that bus.
Ten neighborhood shops turned Shanghainese-friendly. Order your coffee in Shanghainese, get a treat. The city became the classroom.
Localization is not translation. It's belonging.
A dialect is identity, not just a language.
Sometimes to best way to connect with your audience is to speak to the city, not just the country.
Credits
Title of ad: Shanghai Takeover
Client: Duolingo China
Agency: FRED & FARID Shanghai
Chief Creative Officers: Fred & Farid
Executive creative director: Feng Huang
Group Creative Director: Adrien Goris
Creative Group Head: Zoe Zhao
Senior Art Directors: Zoe Zhao, Siyuan Huang, Joy Yang
Copywriters: Adrien Goris, Zoe Zhao
Strategy: Karma
Account Supervisors: David Zhao
Production Company: FRED & FARID Production
Producer: Iris Zhang