For nearly 100 years, Gerber has selected a new baby as their spokesperson each year, and for the first time ever, they have chosen a baby with Down syndrome.
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A spokesperson for Gerber said, "Every year, since the beginning of the Gerber Baby Photo Search, we choose the baby who exemplifies Gerber's longstanding heritage of recognizing that every baby is a Gerber baby, and Lucas is a perfect fit," in an interview with CNN.
Baby Lucas was chosen from 140,000 contestants.
Lucas Warren, an 18-month-old from Georgia, has a smile that edged out more than 100,000 applicants in the annual competition to become the 2018 "spokesbaby" for the company. He will get a $50,000 monetary prize, and will appear in ads for the company and on their social media accounts throughout the year.
Gerber selected its first "spokesbaby" back in 1927, but this is the first time a baby with Down syndrome has been chosen and the public is rejoicing in the company's inclusion of a special needs child.
Gerber has diversified its "spokesbaby" over the past several years.
Last year, a baby of color was selected as the contest winner. Gorgeous baby Riley's face graced Gerber's promotional materials. Riley wasn't the first brown-skinned baby to win the honor, but it's been years since the last.
The 2016 baby was a minority as well.
Back in 2015, baby Isla's parents entered this sweet picture into the Gerber competition and she became the 2016 "spokesbaby." Isla appears to be of Asian descent, marking the second year in a row the company chose a baby from a minority background.
2015 marks the last time a more "traditional" looking White baby got the title.
Back in 2015 adorable baby Grace won the Gerber Baby contest and was the last baby selected to even remotely resemble the original Gerber baby whose face has become a worldwide icon.
We love that Gerber has made a seemingly conscious effort to represent babies from a diversity of backgrounds and look forward to seeing more babies like these recognized for how beautiful and special they truly are.
