Google has produced a series of online ads called 'Search Stories' that highlight each 'quest' and 'story' behind a Google query.
However, it seems there are some searches Google doesn't want to showcase.
The 'Google Suggest' feature, which offers users a list of possible search terms, appears prominently in these commercials--but not in its entirety. As AdWeek noted, the suggestions that are displayed in some of the ads seem to have been edited.
In the 'High School' ad, a user is shown typing 'making friends' into the search box. The auto-complete suggestion 'Making friends with black people' appears nowhere in frame, although it does on Google.com.
See screenshots below: (top image is from the commercial, the bottom one is from Google.com)
Google's 'Newbie' ad also appears to have censored the Google Suggests that appear.
Compare the two screenshots below: (The first one comes from the ad, the one below it it is a screenshot from Google.com)
The Google suggestions in the ad are almost completely different from the ones pictured on Google.com. Among other discrepancies, the former contains no mention of 'tips for going down on a girl.'
Google recently came under fire for what appeared to be censorship of Google Suggests for the term 'Islam is.' No query suggestions appeared for this term, although typing in "Christianity is," "Buddhism is," "Judaism is," "Hinduism is," and other similar queries presents users with an array of 'Google Suggest' options.
Google Suggests often return bizarre, unexpected, funny, and even offensive results (see some here).
Google explains how its Google Suggest feature works:
As you type, Google Suggest communicates with Google and comes back with the suggestions we show. If you're signed in to your Google Account and have Web History enabled, suggestions are drawn from searches you've done, searches done by users all over the world, sites in our search index, and ads in our advertising network.
But should these have been removed, if indeed Google did edit them out? Tell us what you think in the comments below!