At the beginning of this year, Target offered a Valentine’s Day special release of the Stanley Quencher cup in two colors: red and pink. There had been red and pink Stanley cups before, but people simply had to pay more for these two particular shades (and create a mob scene in the act of snatching them off the shelves). The phenomenon of these big dumb cups has been baffling to me, though I do admit I was severely tempted when Stanley partnered with Mattel on a suite of Barbie-themed cups. But that was because I loved the vintage Barbie aesthetic! (Don’t worry, I didn’t spend $60 on a water bottle just because I liked the pattern.) Well folks, they’ve done it again. Stanley debuted two new colors at Target for the upcoming Wicked movie: green for Elphaba and pink for Glinda. And yes, customers have been fighting over the $35 20-ounce or $55 40-ounce versions. Toto, I don’t think we’re in reality anymore.

On October 13th, Target launched a limited-edition Wicked-themed Stanley Cup collection, quickly creating chaos. In one viral TikTok video video, a user described how “people went crazy” and claimed there was “nearly a brawl” over the release. The Glinda pink and Elphaba green Stanley cups created a frenzy, with shoppers scrambling for them as if they were the last treasures of Oz.

In the video, shoppers can be seen darting through the aisles, frantically searching for the limited-edition display. As fans rushed to grab the prized cups, things got heated. One shopper reported that another person tried to snatch a cup from her child’s hands. “Did somebody grab something out of your hand? Because they tried to grab something out of my child’s hand,” she says in the now-viral clip.

In the same TikTok, a young man shared that someone attempted to rip a cup from his hand mid-sprint while another woman proudly showed off her haul — three Glinda pinks and one Elphaba green. As the shelves emptied, with the green variety quickly disappearing, some shoppers managed to snag a few of the final pink cups, leaving latecomers in disbelief at the empty display.

TikTok viewers were equally stunned by the madness. One commenter wrote: “It’s a cup.”

Another poster couldn’t get over how many one family needs, saying they would help out their fellow Wicked/Stanley fans. They pointed out: “Having so many in your cart is insane. I would take them out just to pass them to other people.”

One commenter admits they’re somewhat embarrassed to have one of the tumblers from the highly sought-after brand. They confessed: “I get so embarrassed now with my 1 Stanley, I don’t want ppl to think I’m one of the crazy ones 😅”

The frenzy over the cups is like all trends and will surely fizzle out. According to one TikTok user, just like with every other trend, these cups are doomed for flea market shelves: “can’t wait to see these at thrift stores in a year.”

Despite the seemingly ordinary nature of the product, the Stanley tumblers have developed a cult-like following. And this Wicked-themed release, coinciding with the film’s high-profile upcoming release on November 22nd, sent that fandom into overdrive.

[From Cinema Blend]

I’ve spent the better part of 2024 convinced that there’s a national mass research experiment being conducted on us human consumers without our knowledge. Surely there’s a team of scientists in lab coats observing the stampedes, grand theft, and loss of employment that’s being carried out in the name of obtaining the latest overpriced, limited edition Stanley Quencher cup? But with this latest instance of the Wicked cups, I concede defeat. Clearly it’s perfectly natural for adults to bring their pajama-clad kids to Target at 6:30 am so they can be among the first to bolt into the store like flying monkeys for a new Stanley, all while filming the adventure for posterity TikTok and calling some of the other shoppers nuts for their manic behavior. All of that is normal and to be expected with each new Stanley collaboration. So I’ve decided that yeah, it’s me, I’m the one who must be crazy! I’m going to see the wizard so he can give me some sanity, because this still doesn’t make any sense to me!! The Wicked cups don’t even say “Wicked” on them — only on a label that comes off. The only nods to the characters, besides the colors, come in tiny motifs printed under the handles: butterflies for Glinda and flying monkeys for Elphaba. This is an exercise in defying logic, not gravity.

Target shoppers nearly get into a brawl over Stanley’s Wicked cups in new TikTok. pic.twitter.com/so1bw0RX0M

— Pop Base (@PopBase) October 13, 2024

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