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HBO Max May Bring Back the ‘HBO’ Brand, But Not in the Way You’d Expect
We still haven’t gotten over the last HBO MAX rebrand, which controversially dropped the ‘HBO’ part of the name, leaving us with ‘Max’ alone. But reports now suggest that the streaming service may be planning to put a bit more HBO back into its branding – just not in the way that would make most sense.
The Controversial Rebrand
The idea of dropping the HBO from Max was to communicate that the streaming platform is more than one network’s library alone – it also hosts the libraries of Warner Bros, Discovery, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT. But the move lost it a lot of brand recognition, which the latest rumoured change might not be able to make up for.
A Change to the Color Palette
Bloomberg’s Screentime newsletter claims that the current blue will be "replaced by something more neutral, likely some combination of black and white". So Apple TV then?
A New Direction
Bloomberg says the plans aren’t final, but suggests that the new chief marketing officer, former Netflix executive Shauna Spenley, is keen to make the change, which would bring the MAX brand in line with HBO’s own black and white palette. So it’s not HBO MAX anymore, but it will have HBO’s colors in addition to the dot from the HBO ‘O’…. why not just get it over with and call it HBO Max?
The Reactions
The rebrand to Max got roasted on social media back in 2023. Peacock even threatened to call itself Cock. And it seems adopting HBO’s color palette isn’t going to make people forgive.
Public Reaction
"Nothing will ever undo the massive, hilarious, extremely dumb and unforced error of deliberately giving up the well-known, loved and powerful HBO branding. onw person wrote on BlueSky. "Just go back to being HBO. Why waste decades of brand recognition? ‘Max’ looks like a dog treat subscription service," someone else wrote. "Why are companies so obsessed with being so boring?" another person wants to know.
Conclusion
It seems that the latest rumors about HBO Max’s rebranding efforts are met with skepticism and frustration from the public. While the change may bring some cohesion to the brand’s visual identity, it’s hard to see how it will make up for the loss of brand recognition. For now, it seems that the public is still waiting for a more significant change – namely, the return of the familiar HBO name.
FAQs
Q: Why is HBO Max changing its branding?
A: The reasons behind the change are unclear, but it’s likely an attempt to rebrand the service and distance itself from the controversy surrounding the original rebrand.
Q: Will the change be permanent?
A: The plans are still in development, and it’s unclear if the change will ultimately be implemented.
Q: Will the change be popular with fans?
A: Judging from the public reaction, it seems unlikely that the change will be well-received by fans of the service.
