An adorable Black baby by the name of Magnolia Earl has been chosen as the first adopted child to serve as the face of a Gerber advertising campaign. 

Courtney and Russell Earl, the white parents who adopted Magnolia, excitedly spoke about Magnolia's win with The Today Show on Friday.

Gerber will give the California natives $25,000, and both Gerber Childrenswear and Walmart will each give the parents $1,000. Additionally, the family will receive smartphones that come with a full year of unlimited free service from Verizon.

"This is incredible. It means that when people see our families, or if you see a family that doesn't necessarily match, that you don't have to question the belonging of anybody in that family. We celebrate adoption in our family every single day. The real hero in this story are Magnolia's birth parents. They chose her life, and they sent her on this incredible journey," Courtney said, highlighting that she still speaks with Magnolia's birth parents and told them about the infant being a finalist in the Gerber contest. 

The couple had previously adopted another child who is now eight years old and brought home Magnolia a year ago. Magnolia will celebrate her first birthday on Saturday.

"If you could hear the joy in their voice of how proud they are of this little girl. Together with them and our community and our family, we all this love this baby girl so much," Courtney added.

The Gerber contest to choose new faces for its advertising campaigns began a decade ago, but the company has been around since 1928.

The longtime Gerber baby most people remember, Ann Turner Cook, is now 93 and is still involved with the company. 


Gerber decided to start the Gerber Photo Search because parents often send the company photos of their own babies. 

"At Gerber, we have always recognized that every baby is a Gerber baby. In the 10 years we have hosted Photo Search, we have been proud to feature babies of diverse backgrounds. This year is no exception by featuring Magnolia, our first adopted Gerber Spokesbaby," Gerber said in a statement to Today.

In recent years, the company has tried to diversify the faces of their campaigns, choosing their first child with down syndrome and the first Hmong child in campaigns through the last few years. 

"Mommy always says a family is built on love. We may all look different, but we're one family," Russell said.

“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,” Courtney said. 

Gerber told Today that Magnolia will be featured on Gerber's social media channels and in marketing campaigns. The California baby was chosen from a huge pool of 327,000 children. 

“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,” said Bill Partyka, president and CEO of Gerber.