CONVERSE COLLABORATIONS WITH MUSICIANS PINK FLOYD, OZZY OSBOURNE AND THE WHO

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – January 22, 2009 - Converse debuts collaborations with legendary British Rock artists Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne and The Who. Iconic band graphics and visuals inspire this unique collection of Converse shoe designs that celebrate pioneering bands that disrupted the status-quo and changed music forever. With deep roots in music and rock & roll, Converse has collaborated with numerous artists that represent musical visionaries of the past, present and future. The Converse British Rock series maximizes the indelible imprints of each band on music and culture and the imagery that accompanied their rise. The series is designed for fans of each band as well as music fans of all types to rock in their own way.

Pink Floyd

The Pink Floyd collection takes you through three crucial albums in the discography of one of the most visually and sonically distinct bands of all time that transcended generations. Graphics from the album and psychedelic masterpiece Dark Side of the Moon grace black Chuck Taylor All Star and Jack Purcell shoes with rainbow reflecting prisms and EKG lines accenting these stand-out sneakers. The album Animals is the inspiration for a spacey version of a Chuck Taylor All Star shoe with the Pink Floyd logo running up the heel stripe and the album’s famous imagery of a pig floating in the clouds on the shoe’s upper. The unsettling image of a flaming businessman shaking the hand of another from the album artwork of Wish You Were Here is screened onto the upper of a Chuck Taylor All Star shoe and is as arresting as the album itself. The shoe’s flip-side features the iconic image of a businessman on a sand dune holding a record album. The Chuck Taylor All Star shoes come in high top black/multi, black/white and white/black/pink canvas. Jack Purcell shoes come in high and oxford black/multi leather versions. Shoes in this collection retail for MSRP $50 - $100 and will be available nationwide at specialty retailers, department stores and online at www.converse.com beginning in March.

Ozzy Osbourne

As one of the key instigators of the Heavy Metal genre, Ozzy inspired generations of fist-pumping rockers. Osbourne’s career began with England’s pioneering Black Sabbath. He soon created his own enthralling brand of onstage madness that transformed him from an eccentric character into a musical icon. The high-top versions of the Chuck Taylor All Star shoes in this collection include Ozzy himself scrawled all over the upper in drawings representing an angel, the devil and is accented with the Ozzy logo emblazoned on the tongue. Shoes in this collection retail for MSRP $50 and will be available nationwide at specialty retailers, department stores and online at www.converse.com beginning in February.

The Who

From their earliest mod genesis to their legendary on-stage angst, the images and iconography of The Who is a showcase of British rock in all its glory and the inspiration for The Who Converse Chuck Taylor All Star shoes in this collection. Featuring cool Britannia colors, the mod bulls-eye graphic and The Who logo make up a simple high and a oxford version of shoes that look like they are made for scooters and parkas. The Union Jack embraces the entire upper of a high-top version in a sneaker that would make any anglophile proud. And the iconic image of Pete Townshend cradling his guitar whilst in a rock-inspired leap quietly conveys all that is rock and roll. Shoes in this collection retail for MSRP $50 - $55 and will be available nationwide at specialty retailers, department stores and online at www.converse.com beginning in January.

About Converse

Converse Inc., based in N. Andover, Massachusetts, is a wholly owned subsidiary of NIKE, Inc. Established in 1908, the Converse brand has built a reputation as “America’s Original Sports Company”™ and has been associated with a rich heritage of legendary shoes such as the Chuck Taylor All Star shoe, the Jack Purcell shoe and the One Star shoe. Today, Converse offers a diverse portfolio including premium lifestyle men's and women's footwear and apparel. Converse product is sold globally by retailers in over 160 countries and through 35 company-owned retail locations in the U.S. For more information, visit Converse on the web at www.converse.com.