Gap Casting Call Fun and Safe for Children

Now that we’re back and have had a couple days to recuperate  (nothing like two toddlers in downtown Chicago for the day to remind me I’m not 20 anymore) I’m back to report on what the casting call was like and whether or not I think it was worth it.

Getting there

Since we were aiming to be at the store on Michigan Avenue by 8:45am we decided taking the train was not going to be the best idea. My little girls are fast, but I don’t know how we would have handled taking them on the Metra during the time all the commuters were on the trains. Commuters are fast, savvy travelers and they don’t appreciate kids and parents in the way and underfoot.

We decided to drive; thinking there had to be parking near the Gap.

The nearest parking garage was two blocks away from the store, and we easily parked and walked over to the store.

Meet and greet

We were greeted by, well, a greeter. She looked at my kids, crooned, “They’re adorable!” and asked us with a knowing smile if we were there for the casting call. Armed with the name of the marketing exec and unbridled happiness that we got there in one piece and only fifteen minutes late, I smiled and asked for Justine – letting her know I was from MommyBlog Reviews.

She knew who I was! (Any of you that blog have to know that moment of fear that happens right after you say your blog name. What if they don’t know me? What if I’m not as cool as I thought I was? What if they laugh and tell me to go home!?) We walked downstairs and you could see the setup below.

A stool, a few bright lights, and a white background was the whole set. One of the reasons I like the Gap so much is the simplicity of the advertising. I think this simple setup was also to the advantage of both the participants (kids don’t get distracted when there is nothing to be distracted by) as well as the photographer, who was able to focus on the child instead of the backdrop.

During the shoot

I met Justine (who, not surprisingly, looked fabulous) and she explained that they had already photographed 25 kids since the store opened at 9am and they were ready for the next round of 25 to come in when their time was due. I managed to show up in-between times so everyone was still fresh from it being morning, but mellow from already having taken a few pictures. I asked J how many photos they thought they’d get during the Casting Call:

“Last year we had about 800,000 submissions and we were not offering the in-store experience. Now that they can come in and get shots of their little ones that look just like a Gap advertisement, we expect over a million this year. Parents are excited they can get a fun Gap-like photo of their beautiful child.”

Tara, the photographer was really excited about the camera technology that let her scan the bar on the download card and then take pictures.

She showed me the viewscreen on her camera while saying, “See, we crop them just like Gap advertisements and provide print ready pictures.” What that means for moms is that even if their child doesn’t make it to the finals, they can look at their baby looking gap-a-riffic in a frame every day.

Tara also told me that the photo shoot area was carefully measured out to accurately resemble what an actual photo shoot would look like for the lucky winners.

Warning

If you take your kids to one of these photo shoots – the lights are bright. Like, don’t look into the sun bright. If your child has never dealt with the heat or the brightness of a professional light, don’t expect them to take to it like a fish to water. There will be squinting, there will be wiping of hand across brow. It’s okay, once they get used to it (kids get used to things quickly) they will get a great shot!

Tip from Justine

Once you upload your choice of Gap-photo, you can also upload a home photo as well. So if your child looked amazing but was a little squinty, you can put a home photo up on your entry too that shows your little one with big eyes and a big un-squinty smile.

Photos are available three days after the shoot.

Once you have your amazing Gap photo

The free 8×10 from Snapfish that’s offered after a photo is uploaded to the contest is a great incentive to put a portrait of your child on your living room wall. It means you’re going to have a great picture to hang and people will ooh and aah over your little one as much as you do!

Conclusion

As we watched the children at the Gap hamming it up, crying, running, and smiling for the camera…we couldn’t help but wonder if one of the faces we saw was going to look familiar when we saw the new Gap advertising next year.

Thank you to Justine, and Tara, and Katie, and Heather. You have all made this experience so special, and your openness and friendliness are an example to anyone that wants to be well liked in life. You are all women that I would consider just fine for my kids to look up to.

Quick reminder: This link is to the post to comment on for the entry into the Free Jean Extravaganza (yes, it has a name now) – there are a lot of entries, but there are ten prizes, so your odds of winning are still great.