Google wants your search stories

Patricio Robles @ econsultancy

Google's big foray into primetime television advertising during this year's Super Bowl was arguably quite the success. Its Parisian Love ad, which wasn't even designed for Super Bowl, was one of the most well-received ads shown.



The internet search giant is apparently so fond of its creation that it's giving everyone the ability to create their own Parisian Loves using a nifty new YouTube tool called Search Stories.



The Official Google Blog explains: All you need to do is type in your Google searches, pick some music and — presto! — you've got your very own Search Story to share with your friends or showcase on our YouTube channel.


As you can imagine, the results are, well, interesting.

Search Stories is a simple, yet engaging, creation. And it's something that Google would have been wise to have set up before the Super Bowl. After all, other major companies have capitalized by encouraging individuals to partake in fun user-generated activities, and, in retrospect, Parisian Love provided a similar opportunity that Google didn't seize.

While Parisian Love does have a coherent message for viewers, it lacks a compelling call-to-action. A call-to-action that Search Stories could have provided. Instead of ending the ad with "Search on", Google would have promoted Search Stories: Tell your story at GoogleSearchStories.com.

If Google really wanted to get into the spirit, it might have even considered running some sort of contest around Search Stories.

Obviously, I'm engaging in Monday morning quarterbacking here, but now that Google has created a well-received mainstream ad and developed a clever extension of it online, I think it would behoove Google to think bigger for Super Bowl 2011.

That, of course, starts with strategic planning. Something that, ironically, may decrease the likelihood of Google coming up with something that isn't overly Googly (read: geeky and esoteric). Nonetheless, traditional advertising mediums have a lot to offer Google now that it's one of the world's most recognized brands and hopefully Parisian Love and Search Stories will provide it with a foundation for future ads that will make us laugh, cry, and go online. To one of Google's properties of course.