At this year’s AFL Grand Final, Google transformed halftime into more than just a breather. The tech giant aired its two-minute campaign, Season in Search, a cinematic reflection of the 2025 AFL season as told through the queries Australians typed into Google.
The film stitches together defining on- and off-field moments with overlays of real search terms. Questions such as “Why is the AFL postponed?” ran alongside footage of the devastating Queensland floods, while searches like “How to support a friend?” underscored the growing focus on mental health. In a poignant highlight, “How to make progress?” introduced Mitch Brown, the first AFL player to come out publicly as bisexual.
Sporting passion was also at the forefront, with fans looking up “How to bounce like Ash,” “mark of the year,” and “greatest comeback in the AFL.” The montage, played during one of the country’s most-watched sporting events, turned millions of private searches into a collective cultural narrative.
Google ANZ’s Chief Marketing Officer Suzana Ristevski described the spot as both a celebration and a reflection: “‘Season in Search’ is built upon millions of proprietary Google searches from the 2025 season, making it a powerful cultural barometer of AFL fandom. For 120 seconds, we transformed the halftime break from a pause in the action into an unmissable celebration.”
Developed with creative support from Whooshka Media, WPP’s Sport & Entertainment team, EssenceMediacom, and in partnership with the AFL and Seven Network, the campaign also coincided with a Google Trends report highlighting the year’s most-searched topics. Collingwood topped the list as the most searched men’s team despite missing the Grand Final, while Nick Daicos became the most Googled player. In the AFLW, Melbourne Demons led searches, with Tayla Harris crowned the most-searched female player.
The initiative follows Google’s earlier collaborations in 2025, including 72andSunny’s Get In On It and the heartfelt Just Ask Google campaign, further solidifying the brand’s positioning at the intersection of sport, culture, and everyday life.
By anchoring its storytelling in search behavior, Google’s latest campaign reinforces its role as both a tool and a mirror of public sentiment, turning the AFL Grand Final halftime into a moment of collective reflection.
