Boy with Down's syndrome becomes the face of US baby food giant Gerber

Gerber baby: Lucas Warren
Chloe Chaplain8 February 2018

A little boy with Down's syndrome has become the face of a US baby food brand in a move hailed by disability campaigners.

The 18-month-old boy has been named as this year’s “spokesbaby” for baby food giant Gerber.

The adorable smiling picture of Lucas Warren, from Georgia, won the company’s annual photo competition to become the face of its marketing campaign.

Gerber Chief Executive Bill Partyka said that Lucas had beaten more than 140,000 other contestants to win the coveted prize with his "winning smile and joyful expression".

“Every year, we choose the baby who best exemplifies Gerber’s longstanding heritage of recognising that every baby is a Gerber baby, and this year, Lucas is the perfect fit,” Mr Partyka said.

Lucas's parents said they entered the competition “on a whim”.

They will receive $50,000 from Gerber, and Lucas, who was born with the genetic disorder, will take "a front seat" on the company's social media channels.

Lucas’s mother, Cortney, said she hoped the decision would “shed light on the special needs community” and show that “individuals with special needs have the potential to change the world”.

"This is such a proud moment for us as parents knowing that Lucas has a platform to spread joy, not only to those he interacts with every day, but to people all over the country,” she said.

Michelle Sie Whitten, president of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, said the staff at the Denver-based nonprofit were ecstatic over the announcement.

"By choosing Lucas, I believe the message is that babies with Down syndrome are no different from typical babies and can be seen as adorably perfect," she said.

The Gerber tradition was launched in 1928 when the company asked parents to send in pictures of their babies for its logo. The winning picture, sent in by Dorothy Smith, still makes up the logo today.

The modern-day photo contest was launched in 2010.

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