Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration

The “Clear Craze” was a marketing from the late 1980s to early 2000s that led to an influx of transparent and translucent products. Consumers could suddenly purchase clear versions of electronics, beverages, mouthwash, mascara, deodorant, laundry detergent, and even gasoline. Many clear products were purported to have benefits over their opaque counterparts, such as how clear beverages were marketed as being “lite” or low calorie. But were they actually healthier, as many claimed? And what did they symbolize on a deeper level?

On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Sebastien begin by discussing consumer electronics that debuted during the Clear Craze like the Conair Clear Phone, iMac G3, and Gameboy Color. The two then pivot to clear beverages that launched in the ‘90s, detailing why drinks like Crystal Pepsi and Zima flopped. They round out the episode with a discussion about why the Clear Craze is unlikely to ever truly experience a revival due to tech companies’ aversion to the right to repair.

Links:

The Clear Craze

The Clear Craze & Prison Electronics

The Clear Craze of Y2K Electronics

Ep. 55: Y2K Futurism

Colorless Craze Makes Many Things Clear by Morning Call (1993)

Clear, And Cashing In by Karen Springen (1993)

“It Was the Coolest Phone I’d Ever Seen” by Heather Schwedel

Why The '90s Clear Phones Became So Popular by William Kennedy

The Mac that saved Apple (and Steve Jobs): Deep Inside the Bondi Blue by Rik Myslewski

iMac | The Computer of the Future

Why Crystal Pepsi Flopped

What Happened to Crystal Pepsi? How the 'Clear Craze' Drink Became No More by Kenn C. Bivins

Crystal Pepsi 1992: Transparency Without Demand

10 Things You Should Know About Zima by Olivia White

The Clear Beverage Craze of the ‘90s by The 80s and 90s Uncensored

This is Why We’re Falling Back in Love with Clear Tech by Sushant Vohra

Artwork:

スケルトンClear by Kazzycom

Recorded on 4/29/2026

Those Characters From Cleveland, which first launched in 1981, was the character development division at American Greetings. Tasked with licensing existing greeting card characters like Holly Hobbie and Strawberry Shortcake into toys and cartoons, they quickly found success by launching new IPs like the Care Bears. But how did a company based in Cleveland, OH make such a large impact on children’s media during the 1980s? On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Sebastien detail how American Greetings and TCFC took a bottom up approach to IP development. They discuss how TCFC lost an early legal battle over Strawberry Shortcake’s copyright, how TCFC designed the Care Bears to break into the 40% of the plush market held by teddy bears, and how several TCFC franchises loosely connect to the Victorian-inspired consumer aesthetic known as Soft Countriana.

Links:

Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/silentgeneration/those-characters-from-cleveland/

Throughout the Decades - American Greetings History

Barbi Sargent and Strawberry Shortcake

Barbi Sargent’s design vs Muriel Fahrion’s design

Sargent v. American Greetings Corp., 588 F. Supp. 912 (N.D. Ohio 1984)

History of the Care Bears by Chris Buchner

The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (w/ Terri Mitchell)

The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (1983)

The Care Bears Movie (1985)

Cleveland’s Greetings by Clair McNear

The Bear Truth by Colleen Smitek

The Rise and Fall of Care Bears: Why It Was Cancelled At Its Peak

The Calculated History of The Care Bears

Potential New Cleveland RTA Rail System Map

Artwork:

Strawberry Shortcake and the Care Bears: Best of Friends Sweepstakes 1980s Ad

Recorded on 4/23/2026

Soft Countriana is a consumer aesthetic that flourished from the 1970s to early 1990s that is composed of pastels, country geese, storybook creatures, and homages to the Victorian era. It describes the aesthetic that was most popular amongst “conservative grandmas in the 1980s,” though it broadly appealed to suburban women of all ages. The aesthetic was popularized by brands such as Laura Ashley, Hallmark, Paula Vaughan, and Gunne Sax.

On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan is joined by Evan Collins, the founder of the Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute, who first identified Soft Countriana in June 2022. The two begin by theorizing what type of consumer the aesthetic most appealed to and why it first emerged. They then survey the aesthetic’s common motifs before taking a deeper look at the British lifestyle brand Laura Ashley. The episode concludes with a discussion about whether the contemporary aesthetic cottagecore drew inspiration from Soft Countriana.

Links:

Soft Countriana Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/silentgeneration/soft-countriana/

Evan’s Soft Countriana Are.na: https://www.are.na/evan-collins-1522646491/soft-countriana

Evan’s Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute Patreon page

Evan’s Instagram

Evan’s Bluesky

Soft Countriana Aesthetic’s Wiki Page

Gay Nineties Revival CARI Page

The Gay Nineties: An Album of Reminiscent Drawings by R. V. Culter

Gaggleville Goose Outfits

The Talking Mother Goose ad

Inside Laura Ashley: How Britain's Fashion Empire Was Built and Lost

The Enduring Appeal of Laura Ashley by Amanda Fortini

Small Firm Design by Paula Rice Jackson (SF county store article)

Is Little house on the prairie cottagecore?

Artwork:

The Romance of Paula Vaughan by Anne Childs (1993)

Recorded on 3/8/2026