Nike has announced that 1500 pairs of the mythical 2011 Nike MAG shoes will be auctioned on eBay, Nikemag.eBay.com, with all net proceeds going directly to The Michael J. Fox Foundation.
“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,” said Michael J. Fox. “With their support we can accelerate our objective of finding a cure for Parkinson’s.”
The Nike MAG shoes originally captured the imagination of audiences in Back to the Future II, when the character Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, wore them in the year 2015. Nike has been urged to release the shoes for many years. In May 2011, a generous 50 million dollar match grant was given to The Michael J. Fox Foundation by Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki. They will match up to 50 million dollars raised by the Foundation through the end of 2012. The timing was perfect to bring the 2011 Nike MAG back to support a bigger idea.
“We wanted to translate the excitement people have for the ‘greatest shoe never made’ and for 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 to help the Foundation achieve their goal of eradicating Parkinson’s disease.”
When the original Back to the Future creative team learned of Nike’s desire to support Fox’s foundation with the release of the 2011 Nike MAG shoes, Executive Producer Frank Marshall joined the effort. A concept was hatched to develop 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.
Original cast members Christopher Lloyd and Donald Fullilove reprise their beloved roles and actor Bill Hader and basketball star Kevin Durant join the Back to the Future legacy as store clerk and customer. The sales manager is played by original Nike MAG designer and Vice President of Design at Nike, Tinker Hatfield, who also oversaw the development of the 2011 Nike MAG shoe. Hatfield indifferently informs Lloyd he has landed in the wrong year and the power lacing Nike MAG shoes he is seeking for Marty McFly won’t be available until 2015. The film was created in collaboration with Wieden + Kennedy and features :60, :90 and two-minute versions.
The first rechargeable footwear from Nike, the 2011 Nike MAG shoes were designed to be precise replicas of the originals from Back to the Future II. The aesthetic is an exact match, down to the contours of the upper, the glowing LED panel and the electroluminescent NIKE in the strap. The only deviation from the original is additional foam support in the ankle and toe box for increased comfort. The 2011 Nike MAG illuminates with the pinch of the “ear” of the high top, glowing for five hours per charge.
1500 pairs of the 2011 Nike MAG shoes will be available at Nikemag.eBay.com. 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 destination for exclusive, limited-time fashion events from select designers and brands. The auction starts today 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.
Watch a video of Michael J. Fox talking about the charity auction here.
