Even Jimbo the Clown didn't seem to make 10-month old William Brual smile when the cameras were on the Springfield baby during an audition for the "Ivory Baby," but his mother, Desiree Brual, was persistent. She waved, father "HB" worked Jimbo and a noisemaker, and photographer Michael McGowan gave it a shot, humming out a few songs.
"It all depends on his mood," mother Desiree Brual said.
It was all a matter of timing for Jason Ackerman, 1, while parents Mike and Angie Ackerman made faces, worked Jimbo, and tried a little reduplicated babble. Angie Ackerman knew that timing with his nap was very important.
"If you don't time it right, he can get cranky," she said.
Mike Ackerman thought Jimbo might not be the thing that got Jason curious.
"Remote controls and stuff like that, that seems to make him happy," he said.
Susan Young, from Silver Spring, Md., was happy with daughter Olivia Young's picture opportunity. It took the mention of sweets to do the trick.
"I think she did fine, especially when they mentioned ice cream," she said.
And so the day on the Ivory Baby set continued at Springfield Mall, Saturday, Feb. 22. Tina Putney, the promotion manager from Parents Magazine, set up camp in the Gymboree Play & Music, auditioning 28 children to see who had a shot at being the next Ivory Baby. Springfield was just one stop on their tour of 12 cities nationwide. Prizes included a $50,000 scholarship and the notoriety of being in diapers and holding a bar of Ivory soap in Parent's Magazine.
"Today we have about 20 [babies], but we take walk-ins. We had 93 babies at Cincinnati," Putney said.
The Ivory Baby does have some status, possibly paving the road to stardom.
"Brooke Shields was an Ivory Baby," Putney said, but she admitted "the big thing is the $50,000 college scholarship."
Parents had an eye on that as well.
"If we win the scholarship, it would be nice," said Desiree Brual.
The Ackermans agreed.
"The scholarship's a nice feature. We hope Jason will go to college," Mike Ackerman said.
McGowan, the photographer, is from Loudoun County and was photographing his first Ivory Baby event. The organizers hire a different photographer at each stop, and McGowan fitted the bill with his rendition of toddler-friendly songs.
"I'm singing 'Itsy Bitsy Spider,' 'Pop Goes the Weasel,' whatever works," he said.
It's been 30 years since the last Ivory Baby was discovered. When chosen, this baby will be in Ivory Soap ads, win the scholarship and other prizes totaling $200,000. The search began last October.
To assist with Jimbo the Clown as well as registration, Jessie Darin, 17, of Fairfax, and Michelle Mares, 19, from Williamsburg, were helping out. They are both aspiring models with Barbizon School of Modeling. Mares attends Virginia Tech, and Jessie is a senior at Woodson High School.
"I was up visiting a friend, we're just helping out," Mares said, while Darin worked the stage with Jimbo.
"Look who's got Jimbo, Jessie's got Jimbo," Putney said in an infantile voice. All in the name of the Ivory Baby.