Great Scott! Back to the Future Day finally came, and it was more epic than anyone could have imagined. While everyone has been talking about the impending “historical” date (that was probably arbitrarily chosen by some script writers back in the ’80s) for over a year, few knew what kind of pomp there would be for the actual day. It turns out, there was a lot. Join us as we go (slightly) back in time through some of our favorite things about Back to the Future day. Cue Huey Lewis and the News!
The gang’s all here
Last week, Toyota revealed a teaser trailer for their new commercial featuring BTTF stars Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd chatting in a diner about what has changed (and what hasn’t) since Back to the Future II. Today, the car company released the full four-minute ad for their newest car, the Mirai, which is a fuel cell car powered by hydrogen. While the new car sounds pretty interesting on its own, the sassiness of the stars (especially Lloyd) makes the entire thing worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFyY7_hc-14
Fox and Lloyd were also joined by the film’s third star Lea Thompson on the Today show to talk about everything Back to the Future. Even though these guys probably talk about this every single time they meet someone, they’re still humble and interested. Could you meet three nicer people?
The predictions
Every publication has their own list up right now about what BTTF II got right or wrong about 2015. You’ve probably seen them all at this point, but there’s only one list that really matters, and that’s Neil deGrasse Tyson‘s Back to the Future list. The world-famous astrophysicist took to his flawless Twitter account to answer all of the questions that you wondered about Back to the Future and gave his take with a scale of “Got it” to “WTF?.”
The promised products
Any company that was mentioned or used in Back to the Future II was on top of their game today, but some were significantly more successful than others. At the beginning of October, Pepsi seemed like the frontrunner for coolest fake-product-becoming-real with the limited-time introduction of Pepsi Perfect—the drink of choice at Cafe 80’s—but all of that good mojo wore off quickly when true BTTF fans couldn’t purchase the drink for $20.15 due to site glitches. What was going to take the top spot for best Back to the Future promotional tie-in after Pepsi’s sad dethroning?
Last night, Nike answered the call with a secretive tweet to Marty McFly himself.
The Internet, naturally, went nuts with the non-news about Nike’s self-lacing sneakers last night, but today, the shoe company followed their motto and just did it. They made the goddamn shoes from Back to the Future II and sent the first pair to Fox. Officially dubbed the 2015 Nike Mags, the real-life shoes will be available for a limited time only via auction. All of the proceeds of the self-lacing shoes (that also light up) will be given to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Nike released an epic statement regarding the new kicks:
Almost 30 years ago, Nike was asked to collaborate on a movie that would feature scenes set in the futuristic world of 2015. The brand was challenged to imagine sneakers that would suit the inhabitants of the advanced era. The innovation team, which regularly looks into a crystal ball of athlete insight and technology to project the future of sport, took that task further.
The resulting Nike Mag reinvented the conventional lacing system, integrating it into an inimitable design that became an enduring beacon of popular culture. As Nike, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Parker put it, “We started creating something for fiction and we turned it into fact, inventing a new technology that will benefit all athletes.”
As Marty McFly would say, bitchin’.
A final message from a familiar face
Besides releasing the trilogy on Blu-ray, Universal has been pretty quiet on the Back to the Future Day front, but this morning, the world received a special, heartwarming message from the one and only Doc Brown.
The future is now. And now, it’s the past. Thanks for everything, Doc!
