Warner Bros. Discovery had something old and something new to introduce at the TV Upfronts, reverting back to the name HBO Max a little after two years of being known as Max. The company also rolled out a new advertiser tool, WBD Storyverse, unlocking its 100 year-old asset vault “to help brands emotionally connect with audiences using beloved characters and IP with new twists.” WBD says it “will work strategically with partners” to identify good fits with “fan-favorite” content that can be used in new ways to “capture the magic of the original IP through a branded lens.”

The Storyverse concept builds off the success of previous partnerships that used a similar creative model, like Unilever’s “When Harry Met Sally” Hellmann’s commercial and Wayfair’s “A Christmas Story” holiday spot, WBD says in an announcement that lists “access and opportunities” around “all hit series and films.”

Variety points out that brands leveraging characters from film and TV to market products is nothing new, noting in a laundry list of examples that Warner’s own DC Comics superheroes “have regularly appeared in print ads for Hostess pastries and Snickers candy bars over the years.”

Netflix is trying something similar, having announced at the Upfronts that it is using artificial intelligence to let advertisers lift characters and concepts from its original content to create ads and in some cases integrate products into the programming itself.

WBD didn’t mention AI, but did say that the “WBD Storyverse will serve as a full-service campaign creation engine, utilizing the full array of Warner Bros. Discovery’s technological, creative and distribution capabilities.”

The Verge writes that “according to WBD, Storyverse content will run on its own linear and digital platforms as well as social channels,” adding that “all of this makes it sound like WBD wants to flood the zone with the sorts of commercials you would expect to see airing during the Super Bowl.”

Marketing Brew notes that during WBD’s “nearly two-hour presentation at Madison Square Garden, execs emphasized “WBD’s ability to drive action and awareness with its zeitgeisty entertainment,” illustrating how “White Lotus” increased tourism in Maui, Sicily, and Thailand and drove visits to the Four Seasons website.

As far as the name change, the streaming service since May 2023 “known as Max, previously known as HBO Max (and even more previously known as either HBO Go or HBO Now, depending on if you were a cable subscriber or not), will now be called, once again, HBO Max,” reports Marketing Brew.