Alice Willet Wins Model Contract with Next Model Management Resulting From the First Ever Online Model Search on iWon.com
Memphis Resident Gets $250,000 Contract from Next Model Management, Joining Ranks with Supermodels Molly Sims, Daniela Pestova, and Audrey Quock
(NEW YORK, NY & IRVINGTON, NY – August 14, 2001) – Singers, models and writers were among those attending a private party held tonight at New York City’s fashionable Serafina to learn who would be announced as Next Model Management’s newest face. The five finalists in the Next Model Search conducted online at iWon.com nervously looked on when Next Supermodels Molly Sims and Audrey Quock approached the dais and announced that Alice Willet of Memphis, Tenn., had won the $250,000 modeling contract grand prize.
“This is such an amazing opportunity to see the world. I’m so fortunate to be a part of Next,” commented Alice, the $250K contract winner. Next Model Management, one of the world’s premiere modeling agencies, and iWon (www.iwon.com), the Internet’s leading loyalty-based portal, partnered to find the five new models.
The party and prize begins what is sure to be a whirlwind for Alice, as she will quickly activate her contract by participating in a YM photo shoot with the possibility of appearing on the cover of YM Magazine, the leading sourcebook for teenage girls and the exclusive media partner of the promotion.
Everyone goes home a winner. The four other contest finalists won $100,000 modeling contracts with Next Model Management. Alex Geneser from Corpus Christi, Texas; Colleen Baxter from Las Vegas, Nev.; Jaimie Cook from Honolulu, Hawaii; and Tiffany Lawone Brown from Oklahoma City, Okla.; will join Alice as new faces at Next Model Management.
A celebrity judging panel, including Next Supermodels Daniela Pestova and Molly Sims, was assembled to evaluate more than 30,0000 Next Model Search submissions and ultimately select the modeling contract winners. The star-studded list of judges included:
- Mary J. Blige – Grammy Award Winning Artist
- Mark Ecko – President, Ecko Red
- Annemarie Iverson – Editor-in-Chief, YM
- Derek Khan – Stylist to the Stars
- L’il Kim – Rapper, Atlantic Records
- Richard Marin – Stylist, Helene Curtis
- Daniela Pestova – Supermodel
- Molly Sims – Supermodel and Host of MTV's House of Style
- Janet Speck – Model Editor, YM
- Edward Tricomi – Co-owner, Warren Tricomi Salon
- Joel Wilkenfeld – Co-President, Next Model Management
"We are very excited to be a part of fulfilling a dream for Alice and the four other winners, and we wish them enormous success in their modeling careers," said Bill Daugherty, Founder and co-CEO, iWon.com. "We were thrilled to facilitate the largest model search ever conducted online and to add five modeling contracts to the over $48 million in prizes that have already been won on iWon."
“After receiving submissions from some of the most beautiful girls we have ever seen, we chose the top five to represent NEXT,” stated Joel Wilkenfeld, President of Next Model Management. “Now, with our powerful management team behind them, these girls have the opportunity to take this achievement and turn it into a successful modeling career. Let’s see what happens!”
The Next Model Search on iWon was open to women ages 13 and over. To enter, consumers submitted their photos from May 1 to July 31, 2001, on iWon at www.modelsearch.iwon.com. The photos were posted on the site along with first name, age, hometown, state, height, shoe size, eye color, hair color and interests. A panel of celebrity judges and industry experts reviewed the pictures to determine who would be the new face of Next Model Management.
Helene Curtis and eckored are sponsors of the Next Model Search on iWon.com.
About Next
NEXT Model Management with corporate headquarters in New York City and Paris, is the world’s leading modeling network. Founded in 1989 by Faith Kates who partnered with Joel Wilkenfeld couple of years later, NEXT has emerged from representing only a few girls twelve years ago to representing some of the most prestigious women and men in the fashion world today. Star talent includes Molly Sims, Daniela Pestova, Audrey Quock, Yamila Diaz, Malgosia Bela, Matthew Avedon, Ian Sommerholder. Additionally, NEXT has set itself above a typical modeling company by aligning with Endeavor, a prominent talent agency, in order to assist models with future career opportunities in entertainment. NEXT maintains an influential international force through its fully operational offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Sao Paolo, Montreal, London and Paris, as well as its affiliates in Milan and Australia.
About iWon
iWon (www.iwon.com) is the Internet’s leading loyalty-based portal (Jupiter Media Metrix) combining world-class search, content and functionality with the Internet's largest guaranteed cash giveaway. iWon gives users a chance to win prizes and cash, ranging from $1,000 up to $25 million, and has awarded more than $48 million to over 260,000 users to date. iWon is the fifth most trafficked site on the Internet (Nielsen//NetRatings) and has been voted #1 in User Satisfaction among leading portals for four consecutive quarters (NPD Group).
Founded in 1999, privately held iWon is headquartered in Irvington, N.Y, and operates offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Seattle, and New York City.
About Ecko
Since 1993, Ecko Unlimited has been a strong presence in the hip-hop, skate/extreme sport and designer fashion market. In 1999, the company began producing footwear, leather goods, gloves, outerwear, underwear, bags and a women’s collection entitled “Eckored”.
While other urban apparel companies base their fashions on past market and retail trends, Ecko Unlimited stands out as a design house inspired by urban and contemporary culture. Simply put, the Ecko philosophy anticipates what the end consumer will want. Although this formula is both time and labor intensive, Ecko remains the only fashion house offering full collections that speak to the consumer without sacrificing attention to quality design. This philosophy allows the company to focus on quality-driven apparel with an uncompromising approach to the authenticity and integrity of the product design.
Ecko Unlimited’s inspiration of urban and contemporary culture have helped the brand’s domestic sales exceed $175 million with another $30 million in revenue arriving from foreign markets in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Western Europe and Japan. In a recent industry survey of top vendors around the country, retailers were asked to point the brand best positioned to emerge from the fray on top. The consistent answer was—resoundingly—Ecko Umlimited.
About Helene Curtis
Since 1930, Helene Curtis has enjoyed success as a leader and innovator by creating many of the biggest brands in the hair care industry. Today, the Helene Curtis name appears on the popular Salon Selectives, Finesse and ThermaSilk brands. In 1996, Helene Curtis was acquired by Unilever. Unilever is one of the world's largest consumer products companies with annual sales of approximately $46 billion in 2000. It produces and markets a wide range of foods and home and personal care products. Unilever operates in 88 countries around the globe and employs approximately 300,000 people.
In the United States, Unilever sales were approximately $11 billion in 2000. It employs some 28,000 people and has 80 offices and manufacturing sites in 26 states. Some of their major products are: Unilever Bestfoods -North America: Lipton teas, soups, recipe products and side dishes; Wish-Bone salad dressings; Lawry's seasonings and specialty sauces; Imperial, Promise, Country Crock, “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!” Brummel & Brown spreads and sprays; Ragú and Five Brothers pasta sauces; Knorr soups, sauces and bouillons; Hellmann's mayonnaise and dressings; Skippy peanut butter; Bertolli Olive Oil; Klondike, Good-Humor, Popsicle, Breyers and Ben & Jerry's ice cream products; Gorton's frozen seafood products and Slim-Fast nutritional and health snack products. Unilever Home and Personal Care - North America: Wisk, "all" and Surf laundry detergents; Snuggle fabric softener; Sunlight dish detergents; Lever 2000, Caress, Dove, Degree, Pond’s and Vaseline skin care, deodorant and soap products; Q-tips cotton swabs and cotton balls; Mentadent oral care products; Finesse, Salon Selectives, Suave and ThermaSilk hair care products; and Calvin Klein, Nautica and Lagerfeld cosmetic and fragrance products. In addition, DiverseyLever, a global professional cleaning business, operates in North America, supplying professional cleaning materials and services to institutional and industrial markets.
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