The Ducks served as an inviting mascot part of MSU’s social norms campaign that was coordinated by the Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) program to promote safe alcohol consumption among the student body.

They were created by advertising students as part of a class project that worked with three departments which formed the efforts of MSU social norms, said Andew Poole, director of communications and engagement for the National Social Norms Center (NSNC). Those three departments were Health Promotion, the Department of Communication, and the Office for Survey and Research.

The campaign then ran for over 15 years until its retirement was announced at a “Farewell to the Flock” event organized by University Health and Wellbeing (UHW) last semester.

Christian Allmand, the ASMSU representative for Broad Business College, said once he saw the disappointment among the student body, he didn’t feel alone and felt action was required.

"They convey really valuable information and the reasoning behind the withdrawal of this campaign has not been sufficient, there's been no reasoning," he said. "ASMSU’s job, down to its essence, is to represent the interests of students."

So Allmand wrote a bill that would advocate for UHW to reinstate The Ducks campaign. The bill passed and then attracted the attention of the National Social Norms Center, the home for MSU’s social norms campaigns like The Ducks since its establishment in 2016.

But why did they leave in the first place?

Asked why The Ducks campaign initially ended, Monique Turner, principal investigator of the NSNC, said "It's really normal, in the case of any long-term campaign, to take a look and really wonder, what is the next phase? How should this evolve? What's going to be best for the students?"

Allmand, who had a meeting with NSNC weeks prior, said he was told by them that the The Ducks campaign was discontinued because of a miscommunication between UHW and NSNC on how they wanted to move forward with social norms campaigns.

According to emails UHW Director Alexis Travis sent regarding the campaign — obtained through a public records request — the campaign was intended to be replaced by a new social norms campaign: "We Polled."

Travis wrote, "We are winding down the duck campaign, because we have a new social norms campaign developed with and for students."

Turner said when MSU first adopted the campaign she never could have predicted that it would still be running in 2025 and have such an impact on the student body.

"This is the student government representing the student body saying, 'this is important to us, we really want this to not go away,'" Poole said.

Poole, who helped plan, design and market the campaign, said the messaging resonates so well with students because of how unique the mascots are compared to other branding around campus.

"It's a lot of green and white, it's a lot of Sparty, which is great, we're Spartans, but it tends to all blend together when it's all that same palette," he said. "And so this was kind of an opportunity to have a palette that was completely separate from all of that and stood out from it."

With the motivation from the student body to revive The Ducks, NSNC then decided to begin a revival of the campaign in the spring semester. 

"There is another campaign going on on campus, but we understood that MSU students are used to multiple campaigns about similar topics at the same time," Turner said.

Now the campaign will run independently of UHW, entirely by the NSNC. Poole said they are working with Student Life and Engagement to bring the mascots back to the table tents found in dining halls as well. 

The Ducks has also found a new partner in ASMSU. 

"(The ASMSU) logo will be on some of the items that we put out, and they're going to help support the campaign and get the word out for it," Poole said.

Additionally, Poole explained that they plan on targeting several events in March where student alcohol consumption is higher, like spring break, St. Patrick's Day and NCAA tournament games.

The first event of the semester will feature a message about spring break and take place in the lobby of Snyder-Phillips Hall on the evening of Feb. 19, Poole said in an email to The State News. There will be T-shirts, posters, and other giveaways while supplies last. 

Turner emphasized that the campaign will return with the same mission and focus on students.

"The ducks are here to stay and it's like when the Clydesdales came back, you know, it's like it was like they never left," she said.