We started with data from the Trends team. We sorted and ranked trillions of searches from a quarter century of search data in every language to uncover a list of the most searched people, figures and movements from around the world across a wide variety of categories, from arts and music to sports and world history.

Our long-form film was the foundation of the campaign, bringing all of these data points together in a truly global story. We celebrated 25 years’ worth of progress, spanning iconic figures, influential subcultures, and historic moments that moved us all. Creating this film meant crafting a cohesive, emotional narrative out of a quarter century’s worth of data and events, and striking a balance between celebrating iconic figures and everyday people.

On social, we harnessed the power of fandom by creating content fueled by what millions of people searched for most - from pizza to BTS to Cristiano Ronaldo and more. One of the biggest challenges was identifying the most passionate fandoms and ensuring the creative authentically represented the vernacular, aesthetics, and lore of each following. Through a combination of social listening, custom community management and collab posts, we were able to connect with these groups authentically.

In addition, we created a custom Google Doodle that led users to The Most Searched Playground: an interactive scavenger hunt where people could seek and find 25 of the most searched things as well as discover secret surprises. One of those secret surprises was a hidden Taylor Swift-centric treasure hunt, designed specifically for a fandom obsessed with cryptic puzzles and easter eggs.

The beauty of this end of the year campaign was it’s ability to live into the new year, a quality not shared by any other Year in Search campaign. For Black History Month, we executed an out of home campaign in addition to another short film and tribute featuring various black artists, icons and history makers.