With all the hype around the upcoming Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson flick The Internship, Google seems to be trying to point out yet again that what you’ll see on screen isn’t really what goes on over at the Googleplex.
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The tech company’s campus is one of the main locations for the film, Google products are littered throughout the movie and Google has been involved with advising the production team from day one — but it has been careful to repeatedly state that it’s not an entirely realistic portrayal of its internship programme (it’s a comedy, not a documentary, folks). For example, its interns do not compete for a full time paid position through rounds of Quidditch, or generally describe the experience as a “mental Hunger Games”.
Taking that one step further, the search company has released a video explaining what “the real Google interns” do on their first week. In it, five young interns discuss how many opportunities they’re given, how they’re supported by full time employees and given real responsibilities and projects which could impact Google users around the world. In what looks like the pilot of a reality TV programme, the interns are shown riding bikes around the campus, walking around the brightly coloured kooky campus, and sitting in the sun while Googlers play volleyball in the background. Oh, and casually meeting Google founder Sergey Brin.
As YouTube users have happily pointed out in the comments, it does come across as an advert for the company and its internship program. It’s not the first video showcasing ‘real’ interns though — Google’s Student channel has created a whole playlist full of videos featuring interns working on everything from Google Glass to marketing in the run up to the release of The Internship.
