Gap Unveils Nationwide Casting Call Contest Winners

America Chooses Four Children from Minnesota, North Carolina, South Dakota and Texas to be the Newest Faces of babyGap and GapKids

SAN FRANCISCO – Starting today through February 13, 2008, the winners of Gap’s nationwide casting call contest will be featured in the windows of babyGap and GapKids stores nationwide. The four winners, who were announced publicly for the first time yesterday on the Rachael Ray show, were chosen by the American public out of 20 finalists – 10 babies (five girls and five boys) and 10 kids (five girls and five boys). These finalists were narrowed down from more than 800,000 entries.

The Winners
•Kenadi from Dakota Dunes, South Dakota is three-years-old and is outgoing, loving and happy. Her favorite food is grapes, and she loves singing into her play microphone and dancing. In her hometown, she likes to take gymnastics, go to the local park, and swim.

•Parker from St. Cloud, Minnesota is a two-and-a-half-year-old who is flamboyant, warm, and inclusive. His favorite food is pizza, and his favorite book is “Llama Llama Red Pajama.” He loves to sing nursery rhymes at the top of his lungs, and his favorite thing to do in his hometown is play at the McDonald’s playground.

•Samantha from Clayton, North Carolina is a seven-year-old who is outgoing and fun. She loves to stand in front of the camera and take pictures, and she says she would like to be a model or be famous when she grows up. Her favorite sport is soccer, her favorite hobby is art, her favorite food is ice-cream, and her favorite color is blue.

•Jaron from Beaumont, Texas is a seven-year-old who is kind and full of life. He loves to ride his bike to the park, and his favorite sport is basketball. He likes hip-hop music, pizza and the color red, and he says his special talent is dancing. Jaron’s favorite book is one about the U.S. presidents, and he wants to be an engineer when he grows up.

“We wanted our customers to have the opportunity to participate in the selection process so after a panel of judges chose the finalists, we left it up to them to pick the winners,” said Pam Wallack, president of babyGap and GapKids. “We received more than 500,000 votes for the finalists, and I’m sure it couldn’t have been an easy decision to choose a favorite given how unique and adorable each of them are!”

On October 8, 2007, Gap teamed up with KODAK Gallery, the leading online photo service, and the Rachael Ray show, to kick off the Casting Call contest. From October 8-24, 2007, parents submitted photos of their children online at www.gap.com/castingcall.

After the submission period closed, a panel of judges narrowed down the contestants from more than 800,000 entries to just 20 finalists –10 babies (five girls and five boys) and 10 kids (five girls and five boys). In early November 2007, the 20 finalists were flown to San Francisco to participate in a Gap photo shoot and received prize packages, including special gifts from babyGap, GapKids, KODAK Gallery and O, The Oprah Magazine.

From November 20, 2007 until December 15, 2007, the American public voted on their favorite children, resulting in one winner in each of the four categories.

On January 28, 2008, the winners were unveiled on the Rachael Ray show and will receive special prizes including a year’s supply of babyGap or GapKids clothing, a KODAK digital camera prize pack and more!