Nike, in partnership with NBC Universal, has released a set of limited edition Marty McFly sneakers/trainers from Back to the Future II in a CSR initiative to raise funds to fight Parkinson’s Disease. The new shoes, famed for their self-lacing and self-luminating features, were launched by Michael J Fox himself with an appearance on top rated NBC programme The David Letterman Show. The proceeds from the line will benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Nike placed all 1,500 Nike Mags for sale on eBay and the first pair was auctioned off for a staggering $37,500. With such a high price point few everyday fans of the film will end up owning the dream future shoes, but it does seem there are enough fanatics out there to raise substantial sums for the charity. But all visitors to the www.back4thefuture.com site can also click on a button to immediately donate to the charity.
The shoes will be sold over 10 days, with 150 pairs being auctioned each day.
The initiative was also promoted by two separate YouTube web films: one starring Fox himself and aping scenes from the classic 80s hit film and the other featuring Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader and Christopher Lloyd (who played Doc Emmett Brown) attempting to buy the Nike MAG shoes.
The shoes themselves were actually originally designed by Nike for the movie back in 1989 and the revised design uses an electroluminescent outsole and a rechargeable battery that lasts 3,000 hours.
Comment:
This kind of partnership leverages the skills and content of separate brands in order to boost their combined CSR credentials as well as raise money for a very good cause indeed. Tapping into nostalgia and futuristic dreams at once, it is both retro and cool.
It certainly seems to be proving popular as it took just a few days before the Nike MAG eBay site racked up 10,000+ Likes
Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ6SkdkXjAQ&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yiSdjwi_bg&feature=player_embedded
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