Gap Unveils Casting Call Contest Winners in babyGap and GapKids Stores Nationwide

Selected from Nearly One Million Entries, America Chooses the Four Charming Winners of Gap's Fourth Annual Casting Call Contest


SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 4  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- America has voted - the results are in. Today, Gap revealed the four adorable, charismatic winners of its fourth annual Casting Call contest. Out of nearly one million entries, the next faces of babyGap and GapKids are William McLaughlin, 11 months, from Medford, MA; Shyenne Walker, 2, from Pembroke Pines, FL; Sammy Isselhardt, 5, from Saratoga, CA; and Madison Russell, 9, from Long Beach, CA. In addition to receiving incredible prizes from Gap and Disney Family.com, the winners will light up babyGap and GapKids store windows coast-to-coast starting today in a campaign featuring Gap's iconic arch logo hoodie in bright springtime hues.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100204/SF49435)

"Thanks to the enthusiasm of the parents across the country, this year's contest was our biggest and most successful to date," said Pam Wallack, president of babyGap, GapKids and GapMaternity. "Our annual Casting Call contest is always one of our favorite events of the year and on behalf of the entire Gap family, I would like to congratulate William, Shyenne, Sammy and Madison for becoming the newest faces of babyGap and GapKids."

Shot in San Francisco, the campaign shows each winner wearing the arch logo hoodie in different ways - hood up, hood down, zipped, unzipped, or even layered under a jean jacket. With its super soft fabrication, comfortable fit and cool, sporty style, this hoodie is a versatile piece that children love to wear year-round. It's available in baby, toddler and kids sizes and for spring, comes in a bright new palette of colors like pixie green, ruby red, comet blue and royal fuchsia. The collection is priced from $25 for baby and toddler to $29.50 for kids.

"Disney Family.com was thrilled to host this year's Casting Call for the Gap. It was deeply satisfying to enable parents to share their beautiful children with us and to help them activate their social networks for fan voting. The viral activity generated by this was stunning," stated Emily Smith, vice president, Disney Online Mom and Family Portfolio.

About Gap's Fourth Annual Casting Call:

From Sept. 22 to Oct. 22, parents across the country uploaded 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). The finalists were announced in early December and it was up to America to cast their vote for their favorite babies and kids at gap.com/castingcall.

The Prizes:

The four winners of this year's Casting Call - William, Shyenne, Sammy and Madison - will be featured in the windows of babyGap and GapKids stores from coast-to-coast and receive other incredible prizes from Gap and Disney Family.com 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.

This year, the four Casting Call winners were not the only ones who received great prizes. For the first time, Gap and Disney Family.com offered a special Fan Favorite award, as well as a Voters' Sweepstakes.

The family of Zoe, 3, from Wilmington, NC, received the Fan Favorite award, which was voted on Sept. 22 through Nov. 17, 2009. As the official "Fan Favorite," Zoe and her family were awarded a weeklong Luxury Included® Caribbean family vacation to Beaches Resorts in Turks and Caicos or Jamaica.

During the voting period to determine the four Casting Call winners - from Dec. 7 through Dec. 21 - voters were entered into a Voters' Sweepstakes for every vote cast. The lucky winner, Kristi B. from Arlington, VA, will receive a weeklong Luxury Included® Caribbean family vacation to Beaches Resorts in Turks and Caicos or Jamaica as the Voters' Sweepstakes winner.

  Meet the Winners:

  BabyGap [ages four and under]:



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.

William, 11 months, from Medford, 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.

GapKids [ages five to 10]:

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.

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.

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.

About Disney Family.com

Disney Family.com is part of the Disney Online Mom and Family Portfolio, a leading group of sites that provide inspiration and ideas for parents on a variety of topics important to today's families, including easy recipes, crafts, traveling with children, pregnancy, and parenting. Other sites in the Portfolio include Kaboose.com, FamilyFun.com and BabyZone.com.

  Media Contacts:

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


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http://photoarchive.ap.org/



DATASOURCE: Gap Inc.



CONTACT:  Kim Terry of Gap Marketing & PR, [phone],

, or Katie O'Kane of SS+K, [phone],

, for Gap



Web Site:  http://gapinc.com/

http://family.go.com/ 

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