This Move Is Risky, Hot and Brilliant: Gwyneth Paltrow Was the Only Choice
The Coldplay KissCam clip lives rent-free across every feed right now. Two execs were caught being intimate at a concert. Chris Martin cracked a joke about a possible affair, which was actually spot on, and the internet turned it into a full-blown saga. The couple worked at the same tech company, Astronomer, where one of them was the CEO, whereas the other ran HR. Memes exploded, and both resigned. You already know this gist.
Then, like a plot twist no one saw coming, Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in a corporate video for this same company to talk about data and their actual business. That one-minute ad was strange, straight-faced, and oddly perfect. The funny part is she didn’t mention the scandal at all. So the question is, what sorcery is this PR move really, and more importantly, why Gwyneth?
When You Can’t Hide It, Flip It
Image via Unsplash/Markus Spiske
Astronomer builds data tools. It’s known for helping companies run Apache Airflow, a popular open-source platform—not exactly what TikTok cares about.
But thanks to all the wrong things about that concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts, their name hit peak recognition. CEO Andy Byron and HR exec Kristin Cabot went viral for their unexpected appearance, ducking from the jumbotron as Martin called them out.
It took people hours to identify them, and the company had no time to soften the impact. Byron was out, Cabot followed, and Astronomer issued a short public statement before going silent. But while the company stopped talking, the internet didn’t.
That’s where the problem started, and where their PR team pulled off something completely unhinged in theory, but smooth in execution.
The Cold Stare, the Soft Pitch, and the Internet’s Double Take
The video dropped unannounced on Astronomer’s social channels. It opened with Gwyneth Paltrow, seated in a pale blue shirt, calm and composed, ready to respond to questions.
Only the questions weren’t about anything the internet had been asking. They were about Apache Airflow, conferences, and workflow automation. She never referenced the scandal or hinted at it.
Her dissonance made it work. The ad was surreal because of who she is. She’s not some random celeb-for-hire but was deliberately chosen because of her own love life history. Some of you may know all about it.
It Wasn’t an Accident
Image via FreePik
For this campaign, Astronomer strategically chose someone who had a direct tie to the source of the scandal but no role in it. Gwyneth is Chris Martin’s ex-wife—the same Chris Martin who unwittingly exposed this entire corporate drama to the world with one offhand comment. That’s what made the video impossible to ignore.
The ad was created by Ryan Reynolds’ agency, Maximum Effort, which has built a reputation on viral misdirection. Their style is simple: lean into culture, move fast, and stay dry. They did it with Peloton after its infamous holiday ad and for Mint Mobile, too.
This time, they turned a tech firm’s HR nightmare into a marketing win by using the power of cultural proximity and deadpan delivery. Experts praised its intentionality, especially as it didn’t make light of the misconduct, but didn’t dwell on the absurdity of the situation. That subtlety is rare in crisis PR.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Astronomer’s website reportedly saw a traffic spike of over 15,000 percent. Their Instagram engagement jumped overnight. YouTube views on the ad crossed half a million. Online chatter moved from scandal to strategy.
Coldplay songs also saw a 20 percent rise in streaming, which had nothing to do with the band’s tour setlist and everything to do with this PR whiplash. For a company that most people had never heard of, Astronomer has suddenly become unforgettable.
Silence could’ve left the brand defined by a meme, but they responded with something no one could scroll past. And really, who else could’ve pulled it off but Gwyneth?