Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3…
Subscribers to an HBO Max mailing list received a strange email from the streaming service on Thursday night, leading to everyone making the same jokes.
As shown in a screenshot posted by writer David Gardner, HBO Max sent out an email around 8:30 p.m. ET titled “Integration Test Email #1.” The text shown in the email body read, “This template is used by integration tests only,” with no attachments.
So, despite it looking like a straight-up phishing scam, it was a pretty standard test email that most companies would rather stay internal. Turning the mistake into a gleeful opportunity for clever tweets, people jumped on Twitter to make jokes only HBO viewers and creators could.
The difference between HBO Go and HBO Max is that HBO Max includes every season Integration Test Email #1
— Zack Bornstein (@ZackBornstein) June 18, 2021
Lol if it turns out the HBO Max email goof is a stunt for a new show called Integration Test Email then congrats to the marketing team
— Rachel Tobac (@RachelTobac) June 18, 2021
Hoping the Integration Test Email #1 I just got from @hbomax is somehow the first step in extremely clever viral marketing for #Peacemaker. 🕊️🔫☮️
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 18, 2021
And we have no idea which integration they were testing until the end of season 1.
— Maggie May (@MaggieBP1) June 18, 2021
Tbh we all know Kate Winslet would win an Emmy for this role as well.
— Derek Summerville (@D_Summerville) June 18, 2021
Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ all having the same hastily called all-hands meeting right now WHAT IS OUR “INTEGRATION TEST EMAIL?”
— Mike Royce (@MikeRoyce) June 18, 2021
Comedian and Cristela creator Cristela Alonzo made the joke and quickly had to remind fans, “It’s a joke, everyone. I feel like I have to make it clear on this platform.”
I hope everyone watches my new show called Integration Test Email #1 coming to HBO Max soon! We’re trying something new with the marketing….
— Cristela Alonzo (@cristela9) June 18, 2021
Finally, HBO issued a statement on Twitter, admitting it had “mistakenly sent out an empty test email to a portion of our HBO Max mailing list this evening,” apologising, then playing the oldest card in the book: blaming the intern.
We mistakenly sent out an empty test email to a portion of our HBO Max mailing list this evening. We apologize for the inconvenience, and as the jokes pile in, yes, it was the intern. No, really. And we’re helping them through it. ❤️
— HBOMaxHelp (@HBOMaxHelp) June 18, 2021
The intern! J’accuse! Well, hopefully Integration Test Email #2 goes better and less publicly.