Meet Magnolia Earl: the First Adopted “Spokesbaby” in Gerber’s History

Gerber baby has chosen its “spokesbaby” for 2020—the first adopted “spokesbaby” in the company’s 92-year history.

Magnolia Earl, who celebrated her first birthday on Saturday, May 9, was chosen from over 327,000 entries submitted through the company’s photo search. She “captured the hearts of the judging panel with her joyful expression, playful smile and warm, engaging gaze,” the news release states.

“Magnolia has brought so much joy to everyone she meets. Her personality is beyond happy and joyful,” Courtney Earl, Magnolia’s mother, also said in the release, before reiminsicing about the day they first got the call about her. “On May 9th, 2019 we received a call from the Adoption Agency that there was an expectant mom that was in labor and wanted to talk to us! We pulled off the highway, got a chance to connect with her amazing birth parents, and a few hours later, this sweet baby girl was born. Adoption is incredibly special to our family’s story. Winning Photo Search is an opportunity to tell Magnolia’s story and shed light on all the beautiful and different ways families are made.”

Magnolia has two older sisters, Whitney, 12, and Charlotte, 8, who is also adopted. According to the release, the three girls love playing together, frequently in their kiddie pool, and dancing to the Baby Shark song.

Gerber’s Photo Search was first launched in 2010 after the company received countless images from parents over the years wanting to see their baby on Gerber’s iconic logo, which features the original Gerber baby, Ann Turner Cook. The campaign became a way to celebrate babies from all backgrounds and show that “every baby is a Gerber baby.”

Along with being featured on the company’s social media channels and various marketing campaigns, Magnolia and her family will also receive a cast prize of $25,000, $1,000 in Gerber childrenswear, $1,000 from Walmart and phones with a year of free unlimited service provided by Verizon.

“Our Gerber family of farmers, factory workers, employees and customers are all united in our pursuit to do everything and anything for baby. We believe every baby is a Gerber baby and standing behind our babies has never mattered more than it does now,” Bill Partyka, President and CEO, Gerber stated in the release. “At a time when we are yearning for connection and unity, Magnolia and her family remind us of the many things that bring us together: our desire to love and be loved, our need to find belonging, and our recognition that family goes way beyond biology.”

Magnolia is the most recent in a series of groundbreaking “spokesbabies” for the campaign, including Lucas Warren, the first Gerber baby with Down Syndrome and Kairi Yang, the first Gerber baby of Hmong descent.