HBO Max has started bringing ads to HBO originals that have previously been running on the cable network sans commercials, and that model is starting to take shape with the final season of “Succession.”

While HBO Max started running ads midway through the first season of “The Last Of Us” earlier this year, this is the first time it will be doing so through an entire season of an HBO original show. 

Inventory is extremely limited, with just two advertisers—Mercedes-Benz and Vital Farms—purchasing what is being called “HBO Original Title Sponsorships.” The sponsors appear before each episode of the show’s fourth season, with eight-second and 15-second pre-roll ads that rotate between multiple pieces of creative.

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The sponsorships, which Warner Bros. Discovery is also shopping for upcoming seasons of “The Gilded Age” and “The Righteous Gemstones,” are also being added to the HBO Originals catalog on HBO Max. 

Vital Farms’ ads are themed around corporate corruption, portraying the poor practices of Big Produce juxtaposed against the brand’s “bullshit-free” eggs—which aptly fits the corporate corruption that takes place in the show. Vital Farms was represented by agency Dentsu X in negotiating the sponsorship.

Mercedes-Benz's vehicles had previously been featured throughout “Succession,” but the automaker seized the sponsorship opportunity to show its new line of fully-electric sedans in the pre-roll ads. Putting the brand in front of viewers in the show and through the sponsorship is part of Mercedes’ efforts to find “innovative ways to reach new audiences and the HBO Original Title Sponsorship will take our vast vehicle integration to the next level by engaging viewers not only within the show, but on surrounding platforms,” Monique Harrison, head of brand marketing at Mercedes-Benz USA, told Ad Age over email. Agencies Merkley+Partners and PHD represented Mercedes-Benz.

Both advertisers will also run the ads across additional Warner Bros. Discovery assets—Mercedes on CNN, HGTV and Food Network, and Vital Farms on Discovery+. Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed the title sponsorship is a unique package purchased by the brands, which also included the placements across WBD assets.

The pre-roll ads were phased in for those subscribing to HBO Max’s ad tier ($9.99 per month versus $15.99 for the ad-free experience), first appearing during later episodes of “The Last of Us.” 

The new ad format marks an about-face of sorts from the streamer. At the launch of HBO Max's ad tier in 2021, WarnerMedia (which had yet to merge with Discovery to create Warner Bros. Discovery), said during its upfront presentation that the streamer's ad tier would not include ads within HBO Originals. 

The addition of advertising to HBO Originals makes previously-elusive premium cable content available to marketers, even as as similar cable programmers, including Showtime and AMC, don’t yet offer advertising in their streaming channels. But with the advent of streaming ad tiers now spanning most premium platforms, including Netflix and Disney+, the addition may stand out less than it would have before the rise of the streaming wars.

“The audience is now so fragmented and easier to find in other streaming channels, like Netflix or HBO Max [Originals],” said one buyer. “It’s good to give us more supply, I just don’t think it’s as coveted as it probably was a few years ago when we were really trying to chase some of those audiences.”

A second buyer argued that the new inventory “matters in that you’ve got a show that has a lot of social currency—that still matters. [‘Succession’] is also a show that garners a lot of response, not just in audience size, but in the fact that they’re actually paying attention and looking forward to it.”

The season four premiere of “Succession” last month brought in 2.3 million viewers across HBO Max and linear TV in its first night, and grew to 5.8 million over the first week of viewership, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery told Ad Age. But these numbers are for viewership across all of HBO Max and HBO's linear channels; 20% of HBO Max subscribers are on the streamer's ad tier, according to a recent study from research company Antenna.

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The viewership numbers are far less than some of HBO’s other series, such as “House of the Dragon,” which premiered to 10 million viewers, or “Euphoria,” whose second season averaged 16 million per episode. But as the second buyer said, “Succession” offers value to advertisers in other facets, including its cultural impact and social engagement.