HBO MAX Rebrand Falls Short of Expectations

Rebrand News: HBO MAX May Undergo Color Palette Change

Remember when HBO MAX dropped the “HBO” from its name and left us with just “Max”? Well, rumor has it that they might be adding a touch of HBO back into their branding, but not in the way we might expect.

The initial idea behind dropping the HBO from Max was to show that the streaming service offers more than just one network’s content. It also includes libraries from Warner Bros, Discovery, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT. But this move led to a loss of brand recognition, and the latest rumored change might not fully recover from that.

According to Bloomberg’s Screentime newsletter, the potential change this time is not a name change, but a switch in the color palette. The current blue might be replaced by a more neutral combination of black and white. Some are already comparing it to Apple TV.

Although the plans are not set in stone yet, the new chief marketing officer, former Netflix executive Shauna Spenley, is reportedly interested in aligning the MAX brand with HBO’s black and white palette. So, it might not be HBO MAX, but it could have HBO’s colors along with the dot from the HBO ‘O’. Why not just call it HBO Max at this point?

The original rebranding to Max in 2023 faced backlash on social media, with Peacock even jokingly considering a name change to Cock. It seems that adopting HBO’s color palette might not be enough to win back people’s approval.

With all this talk about rebranding, it sparks the question: Why are companies so fixated on being dull? Let’s see how this potential color palette change plays out for HBO MAX in the long run.