Warner Bros. Discovery Unveils New Ad Solutions & HBO Max Rebrand

WBD Revamps Advertising and Resurrects HBO Max

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) unveiled new advertising solutions and announced the return of HBO Max at its 2025 upfront presentation. The company aims to modernize its advertising approach and leverage its extensive IP portfolio for innovative brand campaigns.

Streamlined Ad Buying with DemoDirect and Neo

WBD introduced two new advertising solutions: DemoDirect and Neo. DemoDirect simplifies demographic-based buying across WBD's portfolio, offering unified scale, quality control, and cross-platform extension. Advertisers will benefit from one plan, one CPM, and one invoice. Neo, a new ad platform, consolidates WBD's premium video inventory across streaming, linear, FAST, and syndication into a single interface. This provides real-time transparency and greater control over ad buys.

WBD Storyverse: Unlocking the Power of "Newstalgia"

WBD also launched WBD Storyverse, an initiative granting advertisers access to its vast IP library for custom campaigns. Building on successful brand integrations like State Farm's Batman-themed March Madness campaign and Hellmann's Super Bowl "When Harry Met Sally" reboot, WBD Storyverse offers access to in-house strategists, creative experts, production resources, and licensing support. This initiative aims to connect brands with younger audiences discovering classic WBD content like "The Matrix," "Family Matters," and "Friends."

“Gen Z and millennials are embracing these timeless franchises," said Ryan Gould, co-president of U.S. advertising sales for WBD. "We're tapping into our massive content library to help brands create 'newstalgia': campaigns that build culture in fresh and unexpected ways.”

Building on Existing Success

These new solutions complement existing WBD tools like Moments, a contextual AI-powered tool, and Shop with Max, a commerce-focused platform. WBD's converged media product, StreamX, has also delivered strong results, increasing reach and lowering cost per impression.

The rebranding of Max back to HBO Max reflects the platform's success, with ad-supported subscribers doubling in the US and viewership up 20% year-over-year. This move aims to strengthen brand recognition in a crowded streaming market.

“Streaming has become a lot like fast fashion," said Shauna Spenley, global CMO for streaming at WBD. "People are saying, 'I'd rather have one great sweater than five.'"

WBD is committed to continuous innovation and providing advertisers with powerful tools to achieve optimal results.