Nike makes good on Back to the Future II promise of self-lacing shoes
Back to the Future II presented a robust vision of the year 2015, and 30 years later we’ve arrived at the future with mixed results—holograms and video chat are here, but we’re still waiting on our flying cars and hoverboards. One of the more memorable and innovative pieces of product placement in the movie was a pair of high-tech Nike sneakers with self-tightening “power laces”—and now those are becoming a reality. Today, on the day that Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveled to in Back to the Future II, Nike announced that it is officially bringing its iconic fictional shoe design to life.
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Nike announced the launch of its NIKE MAG shoes on its website, describing its original objective of partnering with the movie to design “sneakers that would suit the inhabitants of the advanced era.” The resulting modern Nike Mag design uses smart digital technology to sense and respond to wearer motion. The power laces are now reality.
“We started creating something for fiction and we turned it into fact, inventing a new technology that will benefit all athletes,” said Nike Inc. President and CEO Mark Parker in a press release from Nike. “By imagining the future, we create it. Product that comes alive, with on-demand comfort and support when you need, product that senses you and adapts to you is right around the corner.”
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But Nike understands the value of a limited edition product, and isn’t making its Nike Mag too easily available to just everyone. The very first pair manufactured was given—as it should be—to Michael J. Fox today. Additional pairs will be auctioned off with proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation to support research for Parkinson’s Disease. It’s a smart way for Nike to tie some corporate social responsibility values into this golden cross-promotional opportunity. Details on the auction will be released through Nike News and the @Nike Twitter page in spring 2016.
