Missouri Tot “Tate” Becomes Gerber’s Newest Ad Star

Missouri Tot “Tate” Becomes Gerber’s Newest Ad Star

DALLAS, Oct 21, 2011/ — After reviewing more than 156,000 adorable little smiles and animated faces, Florham Park, New Jersey-based Gerber has selected the winner of the 2011 Gerber Generation Photo Search!

With his playful expression and dazzling blue eyes, 11-month-old Tate James Rosendahl from Springfield, Missouri was selected as the Grand Prize winner. As the newest face of the Gerber Generation, Tate will receive a $50,000 scholarship and will star in a Gerber print advertisement early next year.

“My first reaction was disbelief. Then I was so overwhelmed that I started to cry. I was just giddy, joyful and filled with so much gratitude that my son was blessed by such good fortune,” says Tate’s mom, Amy Jo Rosendahl, of her reaction when she was notified that her son had won.

“Having this generous scholarship to put away for Tate’s education now lifts a huge financial burden off of our shoulders. We’re just so proud of our little guy.”

Hosted on Gerber’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Gerber, parents could enter their child into the photo search by uploading a picture under the appropriate Start Healthy, Stay Healthy™ Milestone during the six-week entry period.

The contest received enormous interest as Gerber’s Facebook page saw a significant increase in “Likes” from about 400,000 in May to more than 2.1 million in August.

At the end of the entry period, a panel of Gerber Generation judges set out to find photos of children from birth to preschool that demonstrated charm, expressiveness and consistency with Gerber’s heritage. The child’s photo that best met these criteria was selected as the Grand Prize winner.