August 10, 2015

Calling All Girls! American Girl® Announces Nationwide Casting Call With Creative Platform Tongal

-- Girls Invited to Audition to Play Popular American Girl Characters in New Short Films -- -- Winning Girls to Receive $10,000 in Prize Money --

MIDDLETON, Wis., Aug. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- American Girl is enlisting the help of girls and the creative platform Tongal to bring its inspiring BeForever historical characters to life in a whole new way. From August 14 to August 24, girls, ages 8 to 14, are invited to participate in a nationwide casting call to star in a short film about fan-favorite Julie Albright from the 1970s—or one about American Girl's newest historical character from the 1950s, Maryellen Larkin, set to debut on August 27, 2015.

To participate in the casting call, girls and their parents can visit tongal.com/AmericanGirl2015 to register and submit audition videos. Girls can choose to read for either the Maryellen or Julie characters (or both) from the provided scripts, and casting videos should be no longer than three minutes. Girls who best embody the spirit of Maryellen and Julie will move on to a public voting phase, starting August 31, where fans can vote online for their favorite video finalists. The two winning girls will each receive a cash prize of $10,000, as well as a trip to film the movie. The 15-minute short films are being developed - from screenplays to casting to production - by the Tongal creative community and shown on American Girl's social channels and website. For more information and official rules, visit tongal.com/AmericanGirl2015.

ABOUT AMERICAN GIRL American Girl is a premium brand for girls and a wholly owned subsidiary of , Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) (www.mattel.com). The Mattel family of companies is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of toys and family products. Since its inception in 1986, American Girl has been devoted to celebrating girls ages 3 to 12 through high-quality dolls and accessories, books, clothes, movies, and unforgettable experiences. Best-selling lines include BeForever™, Truly Me™, Girl of the Year™, and Bitty Baby™. HeadquarteredMiddleton, in WI, the company sells products exclusively through its award- winning catalogue, on americangirl.com, and in its experiential retail stores. By inspiring girls to be their best, American Girl has earned the loyalty of millions of girls and the praise and trust of parents and educators.

ABOUT TONGAL Tongal is a platform that opens up its community of talented, independent creators to advertisers, brands and entertainment companies looking to produce unique video content. Tongal's global creative community creates TV commercials, digital advertising, and original content including feature films and has produced more videos for brands than any other company, resulting in more than $20 million in creator earnings and seven short films that premiered at the . Tongal has collaborated with such iconic brands and organizations as Anhueser-Busch, Procter & Gamble, LEGO, General Mills, Bacardi and NASA on more than 1,000 projects distributed across every type of screen, totaling more than 1 billion views.

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SOURCE American Girl

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