Baby Gerber Company Products Face Named Sketch Children

The Gerber Products Company produces many products for babies, primarily "baby food" (foods that are soft and do not require chewing), but also clothing and toys. In 1928, the company had a contest in which it asked artists to "submit" (send in) "sketches" (simple drawings) and paintings of a baby face to represent the company's baby food. An artist named Dorothy Hope Smith submitted the sketch that became "associated with" (thought about in connection with) the company and its products. The "model" (a person who is used as the basis for a drawing or another type of art) for the sketch has "since" (since then) grown up and is a mystery novelist named Ann Turner.

The Gerber Baby represents "innocence" (the quality of young children who have not been exposed to negative influences) and the good health of a "newborn baby" (a baby who was born recently). "Consumers" (people who buy things) perceive the Gerber Baby as being very healthy, and therefore assume that Gerber baby food is healthy, too, and will make their own babies happy and healthy.

The Gerber Baby is one of the most widely recognized "trademarks" (image officially associated with a company or other organization) in the United States, and it is seen worldwide. But in 1996, the company began a search for a new Gerber Baby. The company chose a new child, but the original trademark is still seen on product packaging.

Gerber regularly "hosts" (organizes) photo contests to identify the cutest baby or "toddler" (a child who is just learning how to walk). Parents and other "caregivers" (people who take care of a child) submit photographs of their children in the hopes of winning and receiving money, a scholarship, or the chance to have their child's face appear on Gerber product packaging.