Ad Campaigns
Duolingo English Test launches digital campaign with Neeraj Chopra
MUMBAI: The Duolingo English Test (DET), a global leader in digital English proficiency assessment, has launched a new digital campaign featuring Olympic and World Champion Neeraj Chopra, aimed at inspiring young Indian learners to pursue their global education goals with focus and determination. Centered around the powerful message “Dream. Practice. Win,” the campaign celebrates the shared journey of athletes and learners who strive to achieve excellence through consistent effort and unwavering discipline.
Conceptualised and produced by Kulfi Collective, the campaign kicked off with a hero film starring Neeraj Chopra and Duolingo’s iconic mascot, Duo, together in the training field. As they train together, the film gently reminds viewers that first attempts are rarely perfect. What truly matters is showing up every day and putting in the work. No dream goes global without practice and determination.
As one of India’s most celebrated global athletes, Neeraj Chopra embodies the qualities of perseverance, focus and quiet confidence, values that deeply resonate with learners preparing for high-stakes exams like the DET. His journey of going abroad to train and preparing for years before achieving global recognition closely reflects the path of Indian students aiming to study overseas. Like Neeraj, these students often push past setbacks and step outside their comfort zones in pursuit of something bigger. The campaign draws this parallel to highlight the values of discipline, resilience and self-belief that define both journeys. It serves as a reminder that success doesn’t happen overnight but it always begins with showing up.
“This campaign is deeply rooted in the belief that progress comes from showing up, again and again, even when it’s hard,” said Duolingo English Test India market lead, Tara Kapur. “Neeraj’s journey perfectly captures the mindset of DET learners, ambitious, focused and determined to go global. Through this collaboration, we’re proud to highlight how the Duolingo English Test supports that spirit with an accessible, affordable and modern path to international education.”
Kulfi Collective account director, Pourush Turel said, “It was an exciting collaboration with a true blue Olympian. We wanted to draw powerful parallels to the journey of an athlete and that of a young student preparing to study abroad. Both these journeys demand determination, relentless practice and stepping out of our comfort zones. With Neeraj, Duolingo and the Duolingo English Test, we found the perfect balance of inspiration and relatability. This campaign brings that narrative to life in a way that feels honest, culturally rooted, and deeply relevant to young India.”
Kicking off the campaign was a playful reel released last week, where Neeraj is seen hurling Duo like a javelin, throwing him past all known records and all the way to the moon. A light-hearted take on breaking records, the reel was a perfect blend of organic conversations and DET’s quirky take, serving as a teaser for the campaign film that followed. Another key highlight of this collaboration was a special meet-and-greet and fireside chat with Neeraj Chopra and Duolingo English Test takers. Recounting his experience of moving abroad for training, Neeraj spoke about the challenges he faced and offered advice to students on how to navigate the changes that come with making such a big life decision.
The Duolingo English Test continues to break traditional barriers and democratise access to global education. With over 5,900 institutions worldwide including top universities in the USA and Canada accepting DET, Indian students are increasingly choosing it for its convenience and modern test experience. The test is fully online, costs only USD $70 (approx. ₹6,000) and provides results within 48 hours, making it one of the most accessible and student-friendly English proficiency tests available today.
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NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
