Google has unveiled its annual "Year in Search" campaign for 2022, and at the end of a tumultuous year, its overall tone is one of optimism. 

The campaign is anchored by a spot that showcases some of the questions that people typed into Google this year, such as “can I change,” "can I evolve" and "can I start again?" From people questioning their careers in a reflection of the "Great Resignation," to the retirement of sports stars such as Serena Williams and Roger Federer, these themes are underlined by some of the video clips in the film. It also gives nods to some of the dominant news stories of the year, such as the war in Ukraine, the death of Queen Elizabeth and the anti-government protests in Iran.

"The last two years have been unusual, and the stories of those years very much reflected that." said KK Walker, Executive Creative Director, Google, in a statement. "This year, we saw that people are searching for new possibilities, both personal and professional transformation. Searches like, “can I change,” “work life balance,” “how to be more social,” and “how to start” were all being searched at record highs. These insights shaped this year’s film, which shows how we’ve all come to 2022 changed in some way. I’m excited to share the story of 2022 through the lens of Google’s Search Trends and how we’ve turned a page on the last two years and are looking toward new possibilities."

In addition to the film, Google is kicking off a social media effort that includes top influencer reaction videos and Year in Search content co-created with influencers.  It will run spots featuring niche and mainstream influencers such as Eric Sedeño and Brittany Broski, who have created their own content based on this year’s Search trends, including their first reactions to the film. Content will explore trends like "rabbit holes," with one example showing how people "rabbit holed" from learning about NFTs to Snoop Dogg’s "Snoopverse" and the day people searching for "Wordle hint" hit an all-time high (it was Aug 31 and the word was "khaki"). There will also be an experimental AR filter within Snapchat that identifies the 2022 Google Search Trends that make up your perfect romantic date.

"We wanted to expand this year’s campaign to feel even more authentic and shareable nature of our work, so we went all in creating a number of different social assets to help us tell the story of the year," added Walker. "From working with creators for the first time to running immersive ads that allow people to dive into various trends, we developed multiple channels of engagement that reflected our core values of inclusivity and connection."

"On the heels of a challenging two years, it’s important to remember that there was also a lot of light that helped us all persevere through dark times, and ultimately our goal is to amplify that message across social media and beyond through this year’s campaign."