Why the Gwyneth Paltrow Gambit Worked for Astronomer — And Won’t Work for You

Deflecting people’s attention away from a crisis seldom works, but Astronomer pulled it off after its CEO and head of human resources were caught on video in an embrace during a Coldplay concert.

The little-known tech company deflected the controversy with humor, a tactic rarely attempted when trouble strikes. The one-minute video was produced by the ad agency founded by “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds and featured Gwyneth Paltrow.

Some observers are calling the ad a new chapter in crisis communications.

Yet several unique factors made the ad a hit in the news media and on social media, but especially this one. The clip which caused the crisis was funny, prompting The Wall Street Journal to say that CEO Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot were “canoodling.”

If that clip wasn’t funny, Astronomer’s ad would not have worked. We’ll take a close look at Astronomer’s response over nine days

Wednesday, July 16, 6 pm: The opening act of the Coldplay concert starts.

When Byron and Cabot are caught on the Kiss Camera, their reaction is comic, even before you know who they are. She covers her face and turns away, while he ducks down as the audience starts to laugh.

 “I definitely wouldn’t have posted that video if the reaction wasn’t the way that it was,” the 28-year-old concert goer who posted the original video told news show Inside Edition.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin delivers the punchline, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”

Disclosure of a CEO’s affair usually isn’t funny. No one was laughing when the CEO of department store Kohl’s was fired in May, the CEO of railroad Norfolk Southern was pushed out in September 2024, or the CEO of oil giant BP was dismissed in 2023.

Friday, July 18, 1:30 pm: Nearly two days later, Astronomer issues a statement:

“Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability. The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly. Alyssa Stoddard was not at the event and no other employees were in the video. Andy Byron has not put out any statement, reports saying otherwise are all incorrect.”

The company doesn’t say what it’s investigating. Is that smart? Or evasive? The statement does correct erroneous news reports and social media posts, which is valuable.

7:55 pm: Company issues a second statement:

“Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy is currently serving as interim CEO given Andy Byron has been placed on leave. We will share more details as appropriate in the coming days.”

Saturday, July 19, 1:39 pm: Company issues its third statement:

“As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.

“Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.

“Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI. While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not.

“We’re continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their toughest data and AI problems.”

Astronomer’s slow, sparse public comments “created a vacuum, which the internet was only too happy to fill,” Beth Kowitt, a Bloomberg columnist wrote. “You can’t really say the company lost control of the narrative since it never had it to begin with.” 

But the statement hints at what’s to come, when it says awareness of the obscure company has changed overnight.

Friday, July 25, 6:39 pm: Astronomer releases the ad.

Just as the story was dying down in the news media, the company releases the video, “Thank you for your interest in Astronomer.”

Casting Paltrow was brilliant. She and Coldplay’s Martin divorced in 2015, when Paltrow introduced the world to the “conscious uncoupling,” an irony noted in news reports.

The tongue-in-cheek script is funny, beginning with Paltrow’s description of her role as “a very temporary spokeswoman.”  She explains in fairly technical language what the company does, which adds to the humor, and touts an upcoming company conference.

Her deadpan delivery, honed by her promotion of her lifestyle brand, Goop, is pitch perfect.

“It’s never been entirely clear if Gwyneth Paltrow is in on the joke, especially if it’s on her,” Amy Odell, Paltrow’s biographer, wrote about the ad in The New York Times.

Some people didn’t get the joke, like communications consultant Jerry Weissman.

“By not answering directly and jumping to a positive statement Paltrow did what is known as ‘spin,’” he wrote on forbes.com.

Meanwhile, the Journal hailed the ad as marking a shift in crisis communications.

“The goal has evolved beyond mere damage control to creating moments that are just as viral as the original crises,” the newspaper said.

In an odd move for most advertising agencies, Reynolds’ firm, Maximum Effort, quickly let it be known it produced the ad. There’s an age-old rule of public relations: Hire a celebrity.

Is it worth it?
Whether it’s a novel, a poem or a corporate communication, a key question is: Who is the audience?

Founded in 2015, Astronomer said it had 700 customers in May, when it raised money from investors. It’s a small number in a growing tech sector.

Astronomer helps its customers, such as Apple and Ford, manage and integrate their data. It uses Apache Airflow, an open-source software that’s available to anyone and used by many big companies.

Astronomer is like a certain restaurant on the Northwest Side of Chicago that advertised on the radio throughout the metropolitan area just to reach customers that live nearby. Reynolds and Paltrow probably don’t work cheap.

Meanwhile, unlike the restaurant, the company revived attention to a chapter it would like to close. But Astronomer may be following a public relations strategy that is said to go back to P.T. Barnum.

There’s no such thing as bad publicity.

If you’re wondering why it’s called Apache Airflow, so is Tom Corfman. He’s a senior consultant with Ragan Consulting Group, where he’s part of the crisis communications planning team.  Email Tom to learn how we can help your organization prepare for its next crisis. That’s when, not if.

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