Duolingo launches 'Bad Bunny 101' ahead of Super Bowl LX halftime show
Tití me preguntó if we were ready for Super Bowl LX, and the answer is sí. With Bad Bunny set to take over the halftime show, the hype is already hitting reggaetón levels of excitement, and brands are racing to keep up.
Enter Duolingo. The language-learning app has launched a cheeky "Bad Bunny 101" campaign designed to help fans pick up just enough Spanish to keep up with the Puerto Rican rapper's lyrics. One prompt in the ads asks users to translate the title of his hit single "Tití me preguntó," while Duolingo's famously unhinged owl mascot gets a full Bad Bunny makeover — pava hat and all.
"Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the US, and it’s already part of how culture shows up," Duolingo chief marketing officer Manu Orssaud said in a statement via the San Francisco Chronicle, underscoring the app's pitch that learning the language isn't just practical, it's pop-cultural.
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This isn't Duolingo’s first time tapping into Benito's orbit. Back in 2023, the brand published a blog post encouraging fans to discover the "lots of Spanish lessons hidden in Bad Bunny lyrics," positioning the artist’s catalog as both a vibe and a learning tool.
As part of the larger push for Bad Bunny 101, Duolingo's owl mascot has been doing what it does best: escalating. Over on X, Duo has been counting down the days until Super Bowl Sunday, reminding fans exactly how much time they have left to learn Spanish before Bad Bunny hits the stage. And in case anyone missed the point, the owl has also been spotted in the wild, recently turning up in New York City (sorry, NUEVAYoL) dressed as Benito himself.
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Not everyone, however, is ready to sing along. President Donald Trump has once again voiced complaints about the Super Bowl's musical lineup, taking aim at Bad Bunny's halftime slot and Green Day's pre-game performance alike.
The internet, unsurprisingly, seems far more on board. Estamos ready para bailar.
Topics Music Super Bowl
Crystal Bell is the Culture Editor at Mashable. She oversees the site's coverage of the creator economy, digital spaces, and internet trends, focusing on how young people engage with others and themselves online. She is particularly interested in how social media platforms shape our online and offline identities.
She was formerly the entertainment director at MTV News, where she helped the brand expand its coverage of extremely online fan culture and K-pop across its platforms. You can find her work in Teen Vogue, PAPER, NYLON, ELLE, Glamour, NME, W, The FADER, and elsewhere on the internet.
She's exceptionally fluent in fandom and will gladly make you a K-pop playlist and/or provide anime recommendations upon request. Crystal lives in New York City with her two black cats, Howl and Sophie.
