Max, previously HBO Max, is now HBO Max once more. Warner Bros. Discovery introduced the change at present, rolling again one of many clumsiest rebrands in historical past from a streaming service that’s had greater than its share of clumsy concepts.
Right from the beginning, it appeared like everybody exterior of Warner Bros. Discovery knew the change was a foul one. The first takes have been brutal, like this take from Design Matters host Debbie Millman in a Fast Company story:
“I’m fully bewildered by the HBO Max rebrand,” says Debbie Millman, a designer, model advisor, and host of the Design Matters podcast. “HBO took 4 many years of status and casually tossed all of it right into a dumpster, lit a match, and cheered because it burned.”
According to the corporate, the issue with HBO Max was the HBO half. There is a vital lesson right here, which is that your model shouldn’t be what you name your streaming service. Your model is the way in which your clients really feel about no matter you make. In this case, the emotions are fairly clear–it is a dangerous concept.
Digs on the rebrand are littered everywhere. Like an Engadget story headlined, “Sure, ‘Max’ sounds dumb, however HBO Max wanted a reboot.” Or this Vulture quiz headlined, “Is This Streaming Service Real or Did We Make It Up,” which jokes that Max is “a straight-up correct identify that would belong to precise individuals you recognize.”
Fast ahead to March. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos even acquired in on the motion, calling out the absurdity of HBO’s wackadoo rebrands. Here’s what he mentioned when Variety requested about WBD dropping “HBO” from “HBO Max”:
It was a shock! We would all the time watch what HBO was doing, and at one level they’d HBO, HBO Go, HBO Now and HBO Max. And I mentioned, “When they’re critical, all these names will go away, and it’ll simply be HBO.” I’d have by no means guessed HBO would have gone away. They put all that effort into one factor that they’ll inform the patron — it ought to be HBO.
Of course it ought to be HBO! We all know what HBO is! To put it in WBD head of streaming JB Perrette’s personal phrases after the rebrand, HBO is “a model that has been constructed over 5 many years.” It’s the community that introduced us The Sopranos and The Wire. The wonderful Barry. It’s the place everybody tuned in to observe Game of Thrones.
Max had none of that, however that was the purpose, in response to Perrette. HBO was recognized for its edginess, and WBD needed its streaming service to be extra of a family-friendly affair. What seemingly by no means occurred to it, although, was that it changed HBO with a reputation that hasn’t introduced anybody something, ever. WBD threw out the infant with the bathwater.
To its credit score, WBD is dealing with the change again to HBO Max in the easiest way doable: by charging instantly at it with all the arrogance of Wile E. Coyote chasing the Roadrunner right into a pretend tunnel. Here’s Adam Bader, a WBD director of product who works on the HBO Max streaming app for the Vision Pro:
And the official HBO X account:
Meanwhile, the Max account went with a pope joke:
According to Variety in 2023, Perrette mentioned one of many causes WBD made the change was as a result of it “was brief, tight. Says one thing common.” He added that he and the opposite senior execs have been already utilizing “Max” as shorthand for HBO Max. It’s vindicating now to see the corporate appear to confess that perhaps it went a little bit far by complicated their workplace slang with model recognition. HBO is again — let’s hope the standard stays, too.
