HBO Max: The Re-Rebrand
HBO Max faced significant public backlash after rebranding to Max. To restore brand equity, the client tasked Razorfish with announcing the return to the HBO Max name. They needed to engage a cynical, digitally native audience and flip the narrative from a corporate failure to a moment of authentic connection and entertainment.
Creative Idea
The brand joined its own roast by using iconic characters to mock its rebranding mistakes.
HBO Max turned a corporate reversal into a viral victory by aggressively roasting its own failed rebrand. By using iconic show clips and talent to mock the decision, they transformed public backlash into a self-deprecating cultural moment.
The Corporate Walk of Shame That Won the Internet
The 24 Hour Chaos Window
To execute the "Re-Rebrand," Razorfish established a high-intensity "War Room" in New York and Chicago, deploying 65 unique pieces of content across six social platforms in a single day. Eschewing high-budget cinematic trailers, the team utilized a "low-fi" aesthetic - using iPhones, green screens, and viral TikTok sounds - to mimic the "shitposting" style of Gen Z. This radical honesty transformed actual hate comments from the 2023 "Max" launch into self-deprecating memes. The strategy was so immersive that the brand briefly changed its profile picture to a tombstone for the name "Max" (2023 - 2025) to publicly "mourn" its own corporate identity crisis.
Roasting the Iron Throne
The campaign’s authenticity was bolstered by "IP accounts" and talent who joined the pile-on. John Cena appeared in character as Peacemaker, while Trixie Mattel released a satirical "Gay HBO Max Song." Even the official accounts for Harry Potter and True Detective mocked their parent brand in the comments. This "Corporate Walk of Shame" paid off with a 1,200% spike in brand mentions on X and TikTok, achieving a 97% positive sentiment rating. As the Razorfish Creative Lead noted, the goal was to treat the identity crisis like entertainment rather than a funeral, moving faster than public criticism could form.
Global Redemption and Reach
Beyond the viral memes, the campaign supported a massive strategic pivot as the service expanded into Australia and APAC markets in early 2025. The effort reached over 16 million views in its opening days and was featured in 106 major press outlets. By acknowledging that HBO brand equity was too valuable to lose, the campaign became a landmark case study in how legacy conglomerates can build trust through "radical honesty."
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
HBO Max possessed a massive library of iconic IP and talent capable of delivering high-impact, self-referential humor.
Category
Streaming services typically announce rebrands through sterile corporate press releases and polished, high-budget marketing campaigns that ignore public dissent.
Customer
Fans felt frustrated by the loss of the prestigious HBO name and enjoyed mocking the brand's perceived identity crisis.
Culture
Internet culture rewards radical honesty and shitposting, where brands that can laugh at themselves gain more respect than those that don't.
Company
HBO Max possessed a massive library of iconic IP and talent capable of delivering high-impact, self-referential humor.
Category
Streaming services typically announce rebrands through sterile corporate press releases and polished, high-budget marketing campaigns that ignore public dissent.
Strategy:
Weaponize corporate vulnerability through radical self-deprecation to transform public mockery into a shared cultural celebration of brand heritage.
Customer
Fans felt frustrated by the loss of the prestigious HBO name and enjoyed mocking the brand's perceived identity crisis.
Culture
Internet culture rewards radical honesty and shitposting, where brands that can laugh at themselves gain more respect than those that don't.
Strategy:
Weaponize corporate vulnerability through radical self-deprecation to transform public mockery into a shared cultural celebration of brand heritage.
Results
The campaign achieved massive digital impact within a short timeframe. In just 24 hours, the brand released 65 memes, resulting in 106 articles and becoming the #1 trending topic. The social media buzz generated 96k posts and 585k engagements within the first day. Most importantly, the campaign achieved a 97% positive sentiment rating. Overall, the initiative garnered 10 billion impressions, successfully turning a negative rebrand narrative into a celebrated cultural moment.
10B
Total Impressions
97%
Positive Sentiment
#1
Trending Topic
Strategy Technique
Turn Weakness Into Strength
Instead of hiding from the rebrand criticism, HBO Max used the internet's pitchforks as fuel. They weaponized their own identity crisis to prove they were in on the joke, humanizing the brand.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Turn Failure into Success
The campaign took a widely mocked corporate mistake and reframed it as entertainment. By leaning into the failure of the name change, they converted negative sentiment into brand loyalty and engagement.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The campaign's brilliance lies in its radical transparency and the expert use of its own IP to disarm critics through humor. It transforms a corporate error into a cultural conversation by speaking the language of the internet.
The selection and re-contextualization of iconic show quotes to address the rebrand controversy is masterfully executed.
The rapid 24-hour turnaround and strategic saturation of social media platforms turned a potential PR disaster into a trending win.
“The synergy between the brand's deep library of content and a fearless social media strategy allowed the brand to 'own' the joke before others could.”
