#BreakTheMould is a series of gender-neutral toys.

To spark a conversation on gender equality we collected stereotypical ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ toys and repackaged them into new, gender-free sets which we sent to leading toy retailers inviting them to join the conversation on a live broadcast.

These packs are a sample of what gender-neutral toys could be like, and came with a message on the back explaining the impacts of gender-specific toys.

We also gave the sample toys to some families and documented both the parents and children’s reactions.

These videos were posted online, creating more awareness through conversation.

We created a series of gender-neutral toys repackaged from gender-specific toys and designed them for both boys and girls to play with.

We sent the new toys to leading toy retailers a week before a live broadcast show on gender equality, inviting them to come on air with Cape Talk. We followed up with a phone call to confirm if they were available to share their thoughts during the show.

Listeners were also invited to join in and we had a child psychologist on hand to answer questions and give her professional opinion.

During that week prior to the show, we gave the toys to some families and documented both the parents and children’s reactions, and posted the videos online an hour before show.

And continued the conversation online with a series of social media posts showcasing the new range.

With a budget of under $500 the 45 minute #BreakTheMould broadcast generated 3,6 Million Impressions on twitter, gained a 45% Increase in engagement on Facebook and had a return on investment of over 1000%.

Toy retailers that engaged questioned their use creating of ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ sections in toy stores. And listeners were informed about the benefits of not buying into gender specific toys for their children.

The conversation exploded from on air to online with national sports stars to global gender equality activists all weighing in.