Metro's latest rebrand is a bridge too far

• Like what might be the Clarke regime's biggest faux pas yet: Changing the look of SmarTrip (fun, whimsical) to "Smart Trip" (very corporate!).

Oddly enough, this comes during Metro's best branding run in years, with its popular swag shop and quarter zips for the bro set.

• It rolls out IG-worthy train wraps, and recently debuted a new website and app, keeping that tidy Helvetica aesthetic.
• It's even selling Brutalism as "Brutiful."

But I can't help but notice Metro quietly retired its trademark since 1999: that totemic, green-and-blue, Art Deco-ish, almost groovy-looking "SmarTrip" card.

• You can still buy it — not that you need to, with tap-to-pay — but new commemorative cards do away with the kitschy lil nameplate, which once adorned a Van Gogh.
• "First I'm hearing," says one Metro insider, who now joins my cause.

Explains Metro spokesperson Jordan Pascale: "It's Smart Trip now, and the change was part of an overall recent rebrand" (see also: "Metro Bus" is now two words).

The bottom line: Can someone call Don Draper?