Have you felt an increase in your dosage of logo Doodles provided to you by Google lately? It wasn’t that long ago that the news wires were abuzz regarding Google’s holiday logo Doodle which may or may not have been a pretty big stretch for the imagination to visualize the Google logo in a bunch of strategically sized and placed canvasses. Obviously this is testament to the recognition power of good old Unevolved Brand #49 and Google actually has a team (run by Chief Doodler Michael Lopez) that creates these. But if you’re feeling Doodled out lately, you’re probably not alone.
Last year the Google Doodle saw a total of 271 different incarnations of itself whether they were globally visible or region specific. In fact, the April-June 2010 trimester had a whopping 84 Doodles, more than any other trimester in Doodle history. Now granted that number was inflated by the World Cup and a Doodle being created for many individual countries, 15 of those Doodles actually graced the U.S. version of Google, including the infamous Pac-Man Doodle. Even if those numbers are off by a few Doodles, that still comes to roughly a new Doodle a week. For the current trimester which started in January 2011, the currently Doodle count is already at five but that doesn’t include the newest Doodle celebrating French artist Paul Cézanne’s birthday today.
Remember the days when a new Google Doodle was actually a big deal? It signified something important, like an event or a holiday. In 2005 there was a manageable 43 total Google Doodles. In 2000? A comfortable 33 different Doodles. And those were with a global awareness in mind, celebrating events and holidays from all over the world with country-specific Doodles as well. Getting 50 different Doodles in a year was once a treat; now getting 50 Doodles in a trimester is mandatory.
The Google Doodle once made millions of people stop and look in awe when they saw a new Doodle on their page. For some it even reminded them that it was an important holiday and they had less than 4 hours to go buy a gift for the spouse before they got sent to the doghouse. The Doodle meant something. Now it seems that Google is pulling dates and events out of Wikipedia just to keep the Doodle team busy. And it’s even more evident today with the choice of Paul Cézanne’s birthday. Is that a major holiday or event that is observed globally, let alone nationwide? No. Is the Google Doodle becoming so redundant and mundane that it will soon feature meme anniversaries like the “Bed Intruder Air Date Doodle?” Yes. Am I just bitter that Google chose a French artist’s birthday today over Edgar Allan Poe’s, a man who probably has a far wider global and deeper societal connection than Cézanne ever will? Most definitely yes. Make the Doodle be special again, Google. Make it be meaningful. Make it actually have some sort of connection to us instead of having to Wikipedia whatever the hell it’s supposed to represent.
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