Gant YouTube show Couple Thinkers is less about fashion and more about knowledge

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Oct 1, 2017

When television shows are sponsored by a company or produced by a company, one would expect shameless product plugs and brand promotion. NBC television show The Apprentice made Burger King the center of the show's ongoing competition in one of its episodes, leading many to believe the episode was one long commercial. Emmy Award-winning sitcom Arrested Development made light of its Burger King product placement with two tongue-in-cheek bits that were undoubtedly “off” but also fit with the show’s absurdity. Couple Thinkers, the upcoming YouTube television show produced by Gant and Zodiak Factory & Mastiff, has a different approach: it doesn’t mention clothing at all.
 

The Sweden-based American lifestyle brand held a screening of Couple Thinkers at The Metrograph in New York City, which was attended by friends and admirers of the company, Gant CEO Patrik Nilsson and Couple Thinkers hosts Craig and Megan Ferguson. Attendees had their own different expectations of the show but all knew to expect the brand to outfit the show’s stars.
 
The opening shot from the preview episode saw Craig and Megan in the back yard of their California during a picnic, trading questions about the universe and sharing their thoughts and opinions. One question that arose was if they should prepare their children to leave Earth and start anew in Mars. This question led them to astrophysicist, author and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson, who quelled the couple’s curiosities at the Hayden Planetarium.

The episode's Q&A is segmented by separate conversations between Craig and Megan at their home, giving the viewer an opportunity to laugh a little bit. When the show went back to the conversation, the popular astrophysicist discussed why education should be exciting, how he feels about people stopping him on the street to ask him questions or take photos with him, and if the universe is an elaborate and sophisticated simulation. Not once did the show veer to fashion.
 
Gant may have produced the six-episode series, but the show doesn’t act like it. The wardrobe has several moments to shine but the hosts and the guest never say things like, “I love your shirt,” or “You’re dressed very well today.” Couple Thinkers is a witty, informative, accidental fashion show that will push you to do some research and answer questions that may come up instead of opening a separate tab for the Gant website.
 
The new show is inspired by the brand’s credo, ‘Never Stop Learning,’ which follows the label’s global campaign from 2015 that celebrated Ivy League university graduates that “Changed the world, not the shirt.” The message and the lifestyle supersedes the clothes in Couple Thinkers, which sets the pace for what other fashion brands may have to do if they launch television shows.