McKee Foods Corp. of Collegedale is asking parents of girls ages 4-8 who resemble the Little Debbie on the company's snack-cake packages to enter a look-alike contest to help the company celebrate the brand's 50th anniversary next month.
The original product, the Oatmeal Creme Pie, was introduced in 1960 by then-Chattanooga-based McKee, and dozens of other Little Debbie snacks have been added over the years, all bearing the likeness of the red-haired girl in a straw hat.
She's Debbie McKee-Fowler, a granddaughter of company founders O.D. and Ruth McKee, and is now an executive in the company.
The winner of the look-alike contest won't replace the original Little Debbie, but her likeness will appear on "certain packages" of the snacks, said company spokeswoman Leigh Anne Monitor.
Scholarship is top prizeThe deadline for entering a child's photo in the contest is Jan. 20; 50 semifinalists will be chosen on Jan. 27; 10 finalists will be announced on Feb. 11; and the winner will be revealed Feb. 12 at the company's 50th anniversary event in Atlanta.
The top winner will get a $5,000 college scholarship, while all 10 finalists will be flown to Atlanta with a parent and put up in a hotel for the Feb. 12 event, Monitor said.
And, of course, prizes for all 50 winners will include cases of Little Debbie snacks, while the 10 finalists will get Madame Alexander Little Debbie collectible dolls and $50 gift cards, Monitor said.
The original Little Debbie, who was 4 years old when her grandparents chose her for the snack cakes' label, will present the award to the winner, the company said.
For information about how to enter, visit the company's Web site: www.littledebbie.com/lookalike/default.asp.
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