Meet Lucas Warren, Gerber's first ever spokesbaby with Down syndrome

Gerber selected a baby with Down syndrome to represent its brand after a recent contest to choose the latest iteration of the long-running Gerber Baby campaign.

The 2018 Gerber Spokesbaby is 18-month-old Lucas Warren of Dalton, Georgia.

Lucas' parents, Cortney and Jason Warren, addressed the news on NBC's "Today" Wednesday and said that Lucas is the first baby with Down syndrome to be named with the prestigious title in the contest's 91-year history.

"He’s very outgoing and never meets a stranger," Cortney told "Today." "He loves to play, loves to laugh and loves to make other people laugh."

Cortney explained that she didn't put too much stock in entering the contest and did it on a whim after a relative notified her of the contest.

She revealed that after she'd shared her son's photo on Instagram with the applicable hashtag, she was notified that Lucas had been chosen to be the 2018 Gerber Spokesbaby.

In addition to the title of Gerber Spokesbaby, Lucas' family received $50,000 from the company for his win. The company received more than 140,000 submissions for the contest.

Lucas's dad, Jason, added, "We're hoping this will impact everyone — that it will shed a little bit of light on the special-needs community and help more individuals with special needs be accepted and not limited. They have the potential to change the world, just like everybody else."

"He may have Down syndrome, but he's always Lucas first," Cortney said. "He's got an awesome personality and he goes through the milestones of every child. ... We're hoping when he grows up and looks back on this, he'll be proud of himself and not ashamed of his disability."

Lucas "won the judges over with his glowing and giggly smile,"CBS News reported, citing a news release from the company.

The CEO and president of Gerber, Bill Partyka, said that Lucas was the "perfect fit" for 2018's Gerber Baby.

"Every year, we choose the baby who best exemplifies Gerber's longstanding heritage of recognizing that every baby is a Gerber baby," Partyka said. "This year, Lucas is the perfect fit."