Hoverboards existed in “Back to the Future II’s” fictional year 2015, and they also almost existed for a day in 2014. But it turns out that Funny or Die was behind a viral marketing campaign hoax that hit the web Monday.
HUVrTech posted two videos on YouTube on March 3 that have since taken off (pun kind of intended). The first one stars Tony Hawk, Moby, Terrell Owens and others floating around on what is explained to be a real hoverboard. Adding to its legitimacy, Doc Brown himself, Christopher Llyod, rolled up in a Delorean to deliver the good news, and the goods.
As it turns out, the whole thing was actually just a hoax and hoverboard technology still doesn’t exist. Go figure.
Also read: Justin Bieber Hoax Fools Thousands of News Outlets
Though hopefully, that was kind of obvious to all people, and not just skeptics. Watching the video demonstration closely, a viewer can see a very suspicious pulling-up on the backs and shoulders of the participants’ shirts — wires, no doubt.
But for those who needed more proof that it’s a big, fat phony, Mashable officially burst the bubbles of true believers on Tuesday, discovering that online comedy website Funny or Die were the culprits behind the clips. An online resume for the costume designer on the shoot revealed the website who hired her to be FoD. The designer’s resume has since been taken down, but the page was cached for all the world to see.
So, sorry skaters — you still need wheels for now. On the plus side, there is some entertainment value here: a second video embedded below stars Billy Zane and promises to explain the HUVr board technology, but it doesn’t really come close to that goal at all.
Watch the clips: