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(upbeat music)

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- AT&T turns the HBO brand
into a bad discount ad.

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And Budweiser drops a pandemic
remix of a classic spot.

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I'm Jeff Beer, and this is Fast Company's

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"Brand Hit and Miss of the Week".

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This week's miss goes to HBO Max,

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The newest streaming service from AT&T

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and Warner Media Entertainment.

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It was back in October
2016 that AT&T announced

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that it wanted to acquire Time Warner.

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Finally closing the deal by June 2018.

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A few months later, it announced

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it was gonna create a
new streaming service.

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And that streaming service became HBO Max.

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So depending on who you
ask, and your proficiency

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with rudimentary math, the company has had

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somewhere between 18 and 40 months

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to come up with a marketing plan here.

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The result, it's not HBO marketing,

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it's HBO Max, and it's terrible.

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Here we have Warner Media trying to sell

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one of the greatest
dramatic television shows

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of all time alongside two
really popular sitcoms,

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with a really, really bad pun.

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Who is this for?

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Last year, Warner Media
entertainment chairman,

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Bob Greenblatt, described
Netflix to NBC like this,

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"Netflix doesn't have a brand," he said.

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"It's just a place you go to get anything.

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It's like Encyclopedia Britannica.

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What we're trying to do is
preserve the quality and elegance

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of what HBO has been doing for 40 years

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and at the same time increase it's output

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to a reasonable degree that doesn't affect

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the quality, and elegance, and beauty."

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Now look at that add again.

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Beauty, elegance?

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Not so much.

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It's one thing to bundle all this content

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onto one platform, but
it's another entirely

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to try and cram it all into one ad.

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As confusing as that is for a strategy,

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it doesn't help when
the creative looks like

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a bus stop ad for a discount mobile deal.

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Of course, with its giant
collection of movies,

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shows, and all that HBO gold,

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HBO Max is sure to be
popular with viewers.

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But as a brand, HBO wasn't just a master

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at creating prestige TV, it was also

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pretty damn good at marketing itself.

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Remember the Bud Light "Game
of Thrones" Super Bowl ad?

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So far, HBO Max is a
complete and utter dilution

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of that brand image built over 40 years.

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HBO Max's new tagline is,
"Where HBO meets so much more."

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But by the looks of the marketing so far

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we could use a whole lot less.

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Our hit pick this week is Budweiser.

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Late last week Budweiser decided

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to drop a remix of a classic ad.

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- What's up?
- What's up?

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- People loved how it hilariously
illustrated friendship.

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And it probably sold a
hell of a lot of beer.

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Fast forward a couple decades,

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and Bud's adapted this idea of friendship

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to these unique times, and the importance

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of checking in on your pals in isolation.

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Whether they live alone,

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or they're drowning in
parental homeschool hell,

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friends need a call from friends.

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The new spot stars former
NBA champs and teammates,

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Dwyane Wade and Chris
Bosh, in a video chat.

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Along with WNBA legend, Candace Parker,

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and Wade's wife, Gabrielle Union.

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It's a good bit of lighthearted fun

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that ends with a plug for

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the Salvation Army's
Emotional Care Hotline.

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Up in Canada, the brand
took the original 1999 spot

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and adapted it with a more
socially distant script.

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- What's up?

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- Nothing B, in quarantine.

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- Advertising beer right
now is a balancing act.

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There's a fine line between promoting fun

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and a Tuesday breakfast happy hour.

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Here, Bud's done a
fantastic job of cashing in

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on some vintage cultural clout.

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That's it for now.

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Let us know your picks.

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Thanks for watching.

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And we'll see ya next time.

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(dynamic music)

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(bird chirping)