Make Your Case: Be Creative, Don't Get Boxed In. Mold Making Market Targeted Towards Girls.

Caught this on the television last week and could not help but smile.  The Make Your Case by The Maya Group is a silicon injection mold kit that allows the user to create custom cases for their iPhone and or iPod.  

"You can let your inner designer out with the fun Make Your Case Case Maker, which allows you to create custom phone cases for your cell phone using selfies, photos of your friends or celebrities, or designer paper (cell phone not included). The case maker includes fun stickers that you can use to decorate your case after you've finished creating the mold as well. Switch up your design every day to create a unique look that matches your outfit."

I am fascinated by toys, one as objects and activities that socialize boys and girls about their gender roles and second as markers of time. This is the perfect example.

The Make Your Case set is marketed to girls, seeking to appeal to the popularity of cellphones. Target marketing girls for this activity is interesting. Does this toy emphasize that girls have an attachment to cell phone technology, or more specifically the social aspect of cell phone technology? It begs me to ask how engulfed young people are with their technology and how does the relation differ between the genders?

​Another thing I find incredibly interesting is how telling this toy is; it is clearly of this era. Mold making as an activity in toys is not a new concept. Do you remember Creepy Crawlers? Yet a toy based around customizing the exterior of ones cell phone, better yet the most recent generation of iPhone, eluding to the fact that children use the same devices as their adult counter parts. Even the language in the product description exemplifies the colloquialism of contemporary culture, "selfie."

Check out the instructional video for the Make Your Case.
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In the instructional video, with all the mold making vocabulary aside, I wish explained molds and or the engineering of mold making.  Though I am sure that curiosity will lead girls to analyze and explore how the injection mold functions and or how this three part mold is constructed.  I can't wait to get a hold of the leaflets included in the kit to see if things are further explained there.  

Ive included the newer version of Creepy Crawlers Bug Maker's commercial in as a comparison to Make Your Case's commercial.  The most interesting comparison is the utilitarian idea of a cell phone case versus plastic gooey bugs.  Then again, Maya in their commercial do not at all mention the initial purpose of a cell phone case  which is to protect your device, rather just like any accessory your phone should reflect the individuals personal style.