For years Back to the Future fans have been after Nike to make the special ‘futuristic’ sneakers worn by Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) in Back to the Future II, and now the company’s finally done it. Nike has made 1500 pairs of the 2011 NIKE MAG shoes and they’re all to be auctioned off on eBay to benefit The Michael J Fox Foundation.
The rechargeable shoes are exact replicas of the shoes worn by Fox in the film. According to Nike, the only change from the original design is additional foam support in the ankle and toe box.
“This project is exciting to me because it brings together three very passionate audiences: the Parkinson’s community, sneakerheads and Back to the Future fans,” stated Michael J. Fox in the press release announcing the auction. “With their support we can accelerate our objective of finding a cure for Parkinson’s.”
“We wanted to translate the excitement people have for the ‘greatest shoe never made’ and for the Back to the Future into positive action,” said Mark Parker, Nike CEO, who was on the Back to the Future II set in 1988 when Fox donned the original NIKE MAG shoes. “But the long-term objective is to raise awareness so the Foundation can achieve their goal of eradicating Parkinson’s disease.”
In support of the fundraising effort, the Back to the Future creative team and executive producer Frank Marshall came up with the idea of a lost scene “to honor the original Back to the Future films and characters, capturing Doc Brown’s efforts to make Marty ‘fit in’ during his visit to 2015.” Christopher Lloyd and Donald Fullilove reprise their roles and are joined by Bill Hader and NBA star Kevin Durant in the special lost scene video.
How the Auction Works:
Each day for the duration of the ten-day auction, one hundred and fifty pairs of the 2011 NIKE MAG shoes will be made available via eBay’s Fashion Vault, a differentiated platform for select designer and branded fashion events. The auction began on September 8, 2011 and will end September 18. In addition, the shoes are listed using eBay Giving Works, the company’s innovative online philanthropy program that enables millions of people to easily connect with and donate to organizations they care about. The auction is managed by Auction Cause for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
