Google Search Playground

Objective

Google celebrated its 25th anniversary of Search by commemorating the most-searched people, topics, and moments in its history. The campaign evolved into a multi-year franchise, with a 2024 version specifically tailored for the Paris Olympics to amplify brand presence during a major global event and showcase search trends during that period.

Solution

An interactive Google Doodle presented as a global scavenger hunt where users discovered the most-searched items and trends. The 2024 Paris edition featured an immersive maze with 2,000+ hand-drawn unique characters created by 30+ designers, mini-games (Sports Side Quests), and Easter eggs tied to Olympic culture. Built with accessibility for screen readers and low-bandwidth connections.

Results

Over 55 million people participated in the 2024 campaign with a 2.2x increase from the previous year, and 17.8 million active players logged 150 years of cumulative engagement time with an average session of approximately 2.5 minutes. The campaign featured nearly 85 million most-searched trends, with over 2 million users completing all 20 challenges and 600,000+ players engaging with sports mini-games. The project won awards at D&AD 2024 including 1 Yellow Pencil, 1 Graphite Pencil, and 3 Wood Pencils.