Gap Announces the 20 Finalists for Its Fourth Annual Casting Call Contest

America to Decide Which Four Children Will Become the Next Faces of babyGap and GapKids by Voting at Gap.com/castingcall


SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 7  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- After a month of sorting through nearly a million entries of eligible cuties, today Gap revealed the 20 lovable finalists in its nationwide contest to find the next faces of babyGap and GapKids. Now through December 21, it is up to America to log onto gap.com/castingcall and decide which four children - one baby girl and one baby boy for babyGap and one girl and one boy for GapKids - Gap will feature in store windows from coast-to-coast and will receive incredible prizes from Gap and Disney Family.com.

"Parents' enthusiasm for the Gap Casting Call made this year's contest the biggest to date," said Pam Wallack, president of babyGap, GapKids and GapMaternity.  "We received nearly one million entries, beating the record from the past three years. Each year the decision process gets increasingly harder. There are so many outstanding babies and kids to pick from, choosing just 20 finalists to represent our brand out of all these adorable children was challenging to say the least."

  Introducing the 20 Casting Call Finalists:

  Baby Girls [ages four and under]:



Addison, 3, from Yukon, OK, is quite the entertainer. She loves dressing up like a princess, making up songs and dancing around the living room. When she isn't listening to Disney Princess songs, she is filling up on her favorite food--ice cream!

Audrey, 3, from Bakersfield, CA, loves to laugh and have fun. Her upbeat and witty personality is what makes this three-year-old shine. Her favorite game is hide-and-seek - but watch out, Audrey will jump out and scare you when she screams, "ROAR!" Audrey's favorite food is tacos with rice and beans.

Elliana, 2, from Wadena, MN, is a real girl's girl. She loves shoes, shopping and painting her nails. When she isn't adorned in jewelry and watching The Little Mermaid, she's having fun tackling her three big brothers.

Gisele, 3, from Dumfries, VA, is a pop star in training and loves to dress up and pretend she is Hannah Montana. With her sunglasses and sister's guitar, Gisele rocks out in her living room singing, dancing and laughing.

Shyenne, 2, from Pembroke Pines, FL, loves making people smile and feel happy. When she isn't playing with Mommy's iTouch, she is singing along with her parents to Hip-Hop, R & B and Reggae. Shyenne's favorite snack foods are vanilla ice cream and watermelon.

Baby Boys [ages four and under]:

Angelo, 3, from Daly City, CA, loves hanging out with his playgroup friends at the California Academy of Sciences and the San Francisco Zoo. When Angelo is at home, he loves dancing to the Beatles' Yellow Submarine soundtrack.

Caiden, 4, from Birmingham, AL, might be the next Derek Jeter! When he's not playing baseball, Caiden loves playing with his Nintendo-DS. He has a natural ability to light up the room with his outgoing, friendly and magnetic personality.

Gavin, 3, from Feeding Hills, MA, rides around the yard on his John Deere tractor and four-wheeler and loves helping Daddy rake leaves. He often tells people, "I'm a rock star" and jams out on his musical keyboard.

Leonardo, 21 months, from Valencia, CA, has a ton of energy. He loves playing with dogs, as well as balls and toy cars. He can even do a great impersonation of Cookie Monster. Leonardo enjoys days at the park watching the ducks with his Mom and sister, Sophie.

William, 11 months, from Malden, MA, can be quite silly and loves singing iconic rhymes like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "The Wheels on the Bus." He loves spending his days with his pet dog at Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield.

Girls [ages five to 10]:

Brooke, 7, from San Luis Obispo, CA, has a strong love of animals and taking care of them. Her favorite weekend activity is riding her pony and playing with her pets. When she grows up, Brooke wants to be a teacher or fashion designer. Her favorite food is spaghetti with sausage.

Brooklyn, 6, from Temecula, CA, is a superstar in training. A big Hannah Montana fan, Brooklyn also loves to sing and dance. Her favorite movies are High School Musical and Mamma Mia.

Hannah, 5, from Altadena, CA, wants to be an "animal doctor" just like her Grandpa. Her favorite singer is Justin Timberlake and she gets a kick out of making sock puppets. Hannah is also a great reader and loves practicing Tae Kwon Do.

Madison, 9, from Long Beach, CA, might dance her way onto the set of Miley Cyrus' next video! Madison takes eight dance classes a week ranging in style from Tap, Ballet and Jazz to Hip Hop and Theater. When the dance shoes come off, she enjoys hanging out with friends and watching her brother play ice hockey.

Mia, 5, from San Diego, CA, is complimented all the time on her curly hair. Mia loves making up songs and hopes to be a cheerleader and rock pom-poms one day. Her favorite food is pizza and she always carries around her "kitty locket" necklace for good luck.

Boys [ages five to 10]:

Jack, 6, from New York, NY, loves spending time on his computer creating "mash ups," the art of mixing two songs together. Jack also enjoys swimming, bowling and his sculpture class when he is not hanging with his little brother. His favorite song is Sweet Talkin' Woman by the Electric Light Orchestra and one day, he hopes to be a chef.

Kai, 5, from Raleigh, NC, does all the things that little boys love to do - play ball, ride his bike, watch the movie Transformers and dreams of being a racecar driver. Kai's favorite food is spaghetti and he loves the Black Eyed Peas.

Mason, 10, from Clarkston, MI, loves the Michigan State football team. His love of sports and competitive nature keep him outdoors experimenting with skateboards, scooters, rollerblades and bikes. Mason is a sweet and caring boy who is always looking out for the underdog.

Sammy, 5, from Saratoga, CA, wants to be a break-dancer when he grows up and loves listening to Sammy Hagar and Reggae. His love of the beach and riding his bike keeps him outdoors a lot, but when he finally comes inside for dinner, pizza is his first choice.

Tony, 9, from, Royersford, PA, is a NY Yankee fan, which might explain why his favorite color is blue. In addition to baseball, Tony also likes football and playing with his Xbox 360 on weekends. He hopes to be a scientist, electrical engineer or pro football player when he grows up.

Just as they did the previous three years, the 20 finalists got a preview of what its like to be an actual model when Gap flew them to San Francisco to participate in a professional photo shoot in late November.  In addition to the photo shoot experience, each finalist received a prize package including a $500 Gap gift card and a deluxe Disney gift bag.

"Each year we look forward to this contest and each year it surpasses our expectations," adds Wallack. "These 20 kids epitomize the Gap brand and we can't wait to see which four will be chosen as the next bright faces of babyGap and GapKids."

Check out and download all 20 finalists' photos and footage from behind-the-scenes at the San Francisco photo shoot here: http://www.championmediaclients.com/gap/

Introducing Zoe, America's Fan Favorite:

For the first time in Casting Call history, Gap introduced an award for America's "Fan Favorite." This year's lucky winner is Zoe, 3, from Wilmington, NC. She received the most votes out of more than 11 million votes cast from Sept. 22 through Nov. 17. As the official "Fan Favorite," Zoe has been awarded a weeklong Luxury Included® Caribbean family vacation to Beaches Resorts in Turks and Caicos or Jamaica.

Casting Call Contest Background:

From Sept. 22 to Oct. 22, parents across the country uploaded their favorite photos of their babies and kids at gap.com/castingcall. Judges then narrowed down the pool of nearly one million entrants to 20 finalists - 10 babies (ages four and under) and 10 kids (ages five to 10). Starting today through Dec. 21, Americans can visit gap.com/castingcall to vote for their favorite babies and kids. The winners will be revealed in February 2010.

The Prizes:

The four winners of this year's Casting Call will be featured in the windows of babyGap and GapKids stores from coast-to-coast and will receive other incredible prizes from Gap and Disney including a $1,000 Gap gift card and a Disney on Broadway package in New York or Las Vegas for a two-night VIP Lion King experience.

And contestants won't be the only ones with a chance to win great prizes. This year, Gap and Disney Family.com are offering a special Voter Sweepstakes. For each vote cast at gap.com/castingcall now through Dec. 21, voters will be entered in a contest to win a weeklong Luxury Included® Caribbean family vacation to Beaches Resorts in Turks and Caicos or Jamaica.

About Gap Inc.

Gap Inc. is a leading global specialty retailer offering clothing, accessories and personal care products for men, women, children and babies under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta brand names. Fiscal 2008 sales were $14.5 billion. Gap Inc. operates more than 3,100 stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan and Ireland. In addition, Gap Inc. is expanding its international presence with franchise agreements in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. For more information, please visit gapinc.com.

  Media Contacts:
  Katie O'Kane                              Kim Terry
  SS+K for Gap                              Gap Marketing & PR
                              
  212.419.3374                              415.427.4844


DATASOURCE: Gap Inc.



CONTACT:  Katie O'Kane of SS+K for Gap, [phone], ;

or Kim Terry of Gap Marketing & PR, [phone], 



Web Site:  http://www.gap.com/castingcall 

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