Supreme MetroCard: Overhyped or genius?
Supreme is perhaps the most recognized skate brand in the country. It’s stacked a cult following thanks to its don’t-give-a-shit attitude, affiliation with Terry Richardson and Tyler the Creator, and basic red-and-white logo.
It makes sense other major brands like Air Jordan, The North Face, Vans, Champion, Comme Des Garcons, and even Budweiser, have entered into partnerships with Supreme. However it came as a shock when the NYC-born brand teamed up with MTA MetroCard to create a limited edition Supreme-branded subway card.
…because regular MTA cards aren’t cool enough for the cool kids.
Keep in mind, Supreme also sold out a brick with its branded logo printed into the side. Really, just a plain old brick. This should exhibit the intense dedication of its followers, and the true power of the Supreme stamp.
The collaboration between Supreme and MTA was first announced on Twitter (of course) on February 20, 2017. The $5.50 Supreme card is sold at more than a 500% inflation of the traditional, albeit less cool, yellow MetroCard, but it includes two rides and the ability to load more money onto it.
The cards were being sold at Supreme stores, along with subway stations at Broadway-Lafayette, Queens Plaza, Marcy Avenue, Atlantic Avenue, Prince Street, Spring Street, Union Square, and the 125th Street 2/3 train. So you could wait in the crazy below-ground lines to purchase yourself one (oh, and people did wait in long lines) or go online and do it from home…right?
On eBay, the Supreme MTA cards are being resold for upwards of $1,000.
For the most part, they’re being ticketed between $13 and $18 on eBay. What’s more phenomenal is that individual eBay accounts are selling hundreds upon hundreds of the cards.
You may have already guessed that once the cards went on sale its buyers weren’t thinking one-and-done. They were being bought up by the deck— and now being sold that way.
The MTA card however is a lot cooler than the brick, and has enough function to be useful in life as more than a status staple (although it definitely serves as both). It also got the young people of NYC excited to go out and buy a metro card, which I’m certain is the first instance of subway frenzy in history.
Twitter user @PablitoGarcia4 quite succinctly said what we’re all thinking: “How can a simple white word with a red background have so much influence.”
But it’s not so much a question of how as a statement of face. Although many find the Supreme card hilariously overhyped, a huge population are wholeheartedly psyched by it. If any other brand sought to pull this stunt, it would fall flat.
On a timeline, in a couple weeks (if that), the Supreme MTA cards will become another Pokémon Go!, only for hipster skate culture followers. But it’ll also be a card in the wallets of thousands who associate personally with the ethos of Supreme. And THAT is why it’s so genius.
Photos courtesy Supreme
