Boy with Down Syndrome Becoming Catalog Model Star

Adweek’s Tim Nudd reported this week on a little boy’s jump to internet and catalog fame with his article, Boy With Down Syndrome Becoming an Unlikely Ad Star. The boy in the limelight is named Ryan and he currently appears in the new Target circular on page 9. A few months ago, he made an appearance in a Nordstrom catalog.

Target’s effort to include a special needs child is receiving praise on the internet. Among those is Rick Smith, founder of the blog, Noah’s Dad. Smith documents his own family’s journey with Down Syndrome and recently posted Target Is ‘Down’ With Down Syndrome: 5 Things Target Said By Saying Nothing At All on his blog this week, applauding Target for being “seamlessly inclusive without drawing attention to itself.”

“This wasn’t a ‘Special Clothing For Special People’ catalog,” Rick writes. “There wasn’t a call out somewhere on the page proudly proclaiming that ‘Target’s proud to feature a model with Down syndrome in this week’s ad!’ And they didn’t even ask him to model a shirt with the phrase ‘We Aren’t All Angels’ printed on the front. In other words, they didn’t make a big deal out of it. I like that.”

As supporters for diversity and inclusion and producers of the Institute for Leading Diversity & Inclusion^™, we want to hear your thoughts on the Target story and what your company is doing to become inclusive.