Calling All Proud OC Parents

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ — Calling all babies, kids and proud parents — super tot stardom may be no farther away than a trip to the Gap! Today, Gap announced it will be hosting a Casting Call photo-op at its store at South Coast Plaza on Friday, Sept. 19, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. PDT and at its store at Mission Viejo Mall on Saturday, Sept. 20, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. PDT.

Children who attend the event will have the opportunity to participate in a free photo shoot with a professional photographer on a first-come, first-serve basis. After their child’s moment in the spotlight, each parent will receive a card with directions to retrieve his or her child’s photo online and can then submit their favorite photo to the babyGap / GapKids Casting Call search Website at gap.com/castingcall.

"Casting Call is an event that we really look forward to every year — it’s an opportunity for us to meet and interact with our customers and their children in a unique and exciting way," said Pam Wallack, president of babyGap, GapKids and GapMaternity. "This is the first time we’re doing the photo-op events in select stores. By adding in these events to the Casting Call experience, we hope to give even more children a chance to participate in the contest by helping them with the first step — taking a great photo that really expresses who they are!"

More than 40 photo-op events are being held at babyGap / GapKids stores across the nation. A complete list of photo-op events is available online at gap.com/castingcall.

   Orange County Area Event Locations and Times:    SOUTH COAST PLAZA   Location:    3333 Bristol Street                Costa Mesa, CA 92626   Date:        Friday, Sept. 19   Time:        Casting Call Hours: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.    MISSION VIEJO MALL   Location:    003 The Shops at Mission Viejo                Mission Viejo, CA 92691   Date:        Saturday, Sept. 20   Time:        Casting Call Hours: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.     About Gap Casting Call  

From Sept. 15 to Oct. 22, parents across the country are encouraged to visit gap.com/castingcall where they can upload their favorite photo of their babies (ages four and under) and kids (ages five to 10) for a chance to be featured in an upcoming babyGap or GapKids campaign. During the contest entry period, Gap and Snapfish are offering special offers for all valid entries so no one will walk away empty handed! Parents can also check out leading pregnancy and parenting web site, LilSugar (http://www.lilsugar.com/) for special Gap Casting Call features, as well as tips, trends, product reviews and insider secrets to make mom’s life easier.

Once all contest entries are received, judges will narrow down the field to twenty finalists — 10 babies (five girls and five boys) for babyGap and 10 kids (five girls and five boys) for GapKids. These 20 finalists will be flown to San Francisco to participate in a Gap photo shoot and will receive prize packages, including a $300 gift card from babyGap / GapKids and $250 in prizes from Snapfish including prints, photo books and other customizable photo gifts.

On Dec. 8, the 20 finalists will be announced and voting begins. It will be up to America to decide who will be featured in a babyGap and GapKids 2009 campaign. Voting will be conducted from Dec. 8 to Dec. 21 at gap.com/castingcall. The winners will be announced in mid-January.

Four children will be selected as winners of the Gap Casting Call — one baby girl and one baby boy for babyGap and one girl and one boy for GapKids. The winners will be featured in the windows of babyGap and GapKids stores from coast-to-coast and will receive other incredible prizes including a year’s supply of clothing from babyGap or GapKids and $450 worth of photo gifts from Snapfish.

   For official rules, please visit http://www.gap.com/castingcall.     Media Contacts:    Katie O'Kane                                Kim Terry    SS+K for Gap                                Gap Marketing & PR    kokane@ssk.com                              kimberly_terry@gap.com    212.419.3374                                415.427.4844  

Gap

CONTACT: Katie O’Kane of SS+K, +1-212-419-3374, kokane@ssk.com, for Gap;or Kim Terry of Gap Marketing & PR, +1-415-427-4844, kimberly_terry@gap.com

Web site: http://www.gapinc.com/