Google is celebrating the big surprises of 2024 by dedicating its 14th annual Year in Search campaign to breakout stars, including a pygmy hippo, the personification of anxiety, and Dr Pepper with pickles.

The nearly four-minute film, created by Google Brand Studio, is devoted to breakout searches — or terms that spiked by more than 5,000% year-over-year. Compiling a mix of news footage, music videos, and social media reactions, it showcases the meteoric rise of baseball player Shohei Ohtani and pop star Chappell Roan, along with the world’s obsession with Thai pygmy hippo Moo Deng, and Anxiety, the star of Pixar’s animated blockbuster Inside Out 2. 

The film is broken into subgroups like “breakout genres” — a tribute to the rising popularity of country music thanks to Beyoncé, Shaboozey, and Post Malone — and “breakout taste,” which spotlights the viral trend of ordering pickles in Dr Pepper. The Paris 2024 Olympics also gets plenty of attention, focusing on athletes Sha’Carri Richardson and Stephen Curry, while a “breakout comeback” segment is devoted to Celine Dion and gymnast Simone Biles.

While most of the film is lighthearted, it contains some somber notes such as footage of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and tributes to the late Toby Keith, Maggie Smith, and James Earl Jones.

“Our goal is to connect with people emotionally and deliver a message of hope and resilience,” Google Brand Studio creative director KK Walker told ADWEEK. “It’s incredible how much humanity and hope shines through when we reflect people’s searches back to them. Showing the good in the world never gets old.”

The focus on breakout stars is a shift from last year’s Year in Search campaign, which marked Google’s 25th anniversary by showcasing the top searches from throughout its history. Other past themes have included “Can I change?” as a tribute to taking risk, and “How to heal,” which grappled with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As someone who’s worked on this for many years, I can attest it’s one of the most special (campaigns) we do – so many people look forward to this and feel that much-needed optimism,” Walker said. “We pour our hearts into each campaign, constantly learning and pushing to be even more impactful.”

The film is accompanied by the publication of hundreds of lists revealing the top 10 searches from across the world. Google has also engaged fans across sports, music, gaming, and anime to celebrate their own breakout searches.

Other activations will include emoji puzzles that users can solve to reveal breakout search terms, a 10-episode podcast series, a collection of breakout albums shared on YouTube, and a Year in Search-themed doodle on Google’s Search page.

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