Was That Gwyneth Paltrow Video a Good Idea?
We LOVE an internet divided.
By now, most of us have heard about the “Coldplay affair drama,” where Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot were caught canoodling, broadcast live on the concert’s jumbotron. Here’s a brief recap if you need one. (Honestly, how could you need one?)
In the days following the scandal, Astronomer released a series of corporate statements to inform stakeholders and manage the fallout. The messaging followed a fairly standard crisis communications playbook:
For many companies, that would have been the end of it. Astronomer, after all, wasn’t exactly a household name.
But the incident went v-i-r-a-l, and the internet wasn’t ready to let it go. Memes, news coverage, and parody videos flooded social feeds, turning a niche B2B company into an unexpected cultural moment.
So what do you do when the usual crisis comms strategies aren’t enough?
You’ve got a few options:
Option A: Go quiet and wait for the noise to die down.
Option B: Issue more corporate statements to try and rebuild stakeholder trust.
Option C: Embrace the madness and the moment.
Astronomer went with Option C.
According to Axios Communicators, the company hired creative agency Maximum Effort (founded by Ryan Reynolds) to produce a tongue-in-cheek ad featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, the ex-wife of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. In the spot, Paltrow is named Astronomer’s “temporary spokesperson,” poking fun at the situation while introducing the company’s products and upcoming events.
As expected, the ad went viral. And PR pros had a lot to say.
The response? Deeply divided.
Some called it gimmicky.
Others thought it was a genius move, showing their self-awareness and jumping on an opportunity to promote what their company actually does.
Still others felt it was a cheap deflection that did nothing to rebuild trust.
Our take?
It’s a little bit of all of the above.
For most people, this was their first-ever impression of Astronomer. They didn’t know what the company did, they just knew the CEO and CPO were caught in a very public scandal.
Astronomer’s comms team followed many of the right first steps (though we’d suggest faster messaging could’ve helped). But the public spectacle kept growing. Silence wasn’t an option. So they made a move (and hiring Gwyneth Paltrow certainly qualifies as one).
The cons:
It trivializes a serious situation with real consequences for real people—especially the families and employees affected.
The humor likely does little to reassure employees or stakeholders who are genuinely concerned about the company’s future.
It doesn’t offer a clear path forward; it’s a distraction, not a resolution.
It keeps Astronomer in the news connected to a scandal. And Gwyneth’s star power ensures at least a two-day news cycle with extended tenacles.
The pros:
IT’S. GWYNETH. PALTROW. (For the record, The EO Report invites a collab with her or Goop any day.)
It shows the company understands the cultural moment and the power of the internet. To counter this level of virality, they needed to do something bold.
They used the moment to educate. As goofy as the ad was, it introduced people to their products and upcoming events.
It allowed Astronomer to act like they were “in on the joke,” potentially softening public criticism. (It’s Chris Martin’s ex-wife! He’s been there too…he has "consciously uncoupled.”)
While it may not rebuild trust immediately, it helps shift the conversation—buying space to start rebuilding from a new narrative.
We’ll have to wait and see if the gamble pays off. But in a situation this out of control, Astronomer knew one thing: doing nothing wasn’t an option.
Last question: Was the gambit risky to Gwyneth or Goop?! What were her pros and cons?