The new campaign introduces Duolingo’s ‘Learn English from Punjabi’ course by turning a familiar Punjabi phrase into a playful cultural device. Duolingo has launched its ‘Learn English from Punjabi’ course, enabling Punjabi speakers to learn English through Gurmukhi on its app. The launch is being supported by a new campaign conceptualised by Talented & Calm Kaam.
The course is aimed at Punjabi-speaking learners in India and across global Punjabi communities, including those in Canada, the UK, the US and Australia. Punjabi becomes the platform’s second regional language course for North India after Hindi, joining its existing Hindi, Bengali, Telugu and Tamil offerings. For the campaign, Talented has built the creative around ‘Ullu Da Pattha’, a phrase commonly used in Punjabi households to describe someone as foolish or mischievous. Rather than treating the phrase as a reprimand, the campaign turns it into a playful badge for people learning English with Duolingo. The films place Duolingo’s mascot Duo in recognisably Punjabi settings, using local humour and everyday situations to introduce the English-learning proposition. Across the stories, Duo gradually wins people over and turns them into fellow Ullu Da Patthas.
Ankush Sabharwal & Leena Gupta, Creatives at Talented, said, “Being called an ‘Ullu Da Pattha’ is a rite of passage if you grew up in a Punjabi household. We loved how naturally the phrase lent itself to Duo, and how it gave us an opportunity to show a dif erent side of him. We’ve mostly seen him in his more unhinged avatars, so we wanted to make him lovable and af able, like this guy who has arrived in Punjab and is slowly building his community. There was something very funny about imagining Duo going around, winning people over and turning them into Ullu Da Patthas. It felt like a very natural way for him to find his place in Punjab.”
Anant Sharma, director, said, “Working with Duo, both the brand and the mascot, was tons of fun. The whacky, silly humour, combined with Duo’s signature snark, makes you love the brand even more, especially when placed in typically Punjabi contexts. I’m super excited to see the response from Punjabis, hoping that they find a representation of our culture in these quick, fun snippets!”
Karandeep Singh Kapany, regional marketing director, India and South East Asia, Duolingo, said, “Being able to launch this course in my mother tongue is incredibly meaningful and a moment of real pride for me,” said Karandeep Singh Kapany, regional marketing director, India and South East Asia. “Punjabis have long embraced opportunities beyond borders, pursuing education, careers and new beginnings around the world. By making English learning available in Punjabi, we’re helping remove language barriers and enabling even more people to access the opportunities that English can unlock. This launch reflects our commitment to making high-quality education more accessible, inclusive and relevant for learners across South Asia and beyond.” The films were produced by Calm Kaam, led by Bushra Shariff. The new Punjabi-to-English course is now available on the Duolingo app.
