No kiss. Just a lingering hug. Nevertheless, your CEO and HR boss are caught on camera at a Coldplay concert. But in the court of public opinion, body language is guilty until proven otherwise. Cue peak Schadenfreude. And just like that, your obscure company becomes the star of a scandal no one cast you in. Suddenly, you're trending, not for your work, but for a drama not of your design. An omnishambles meets a global clusterf**k Most brands freeze in this moment. Panic mode. Damage control. The usual defensive reflexes from the in-house PR wrangler, cautious statements, tight lips, and the faint hope it’ll all blow over. The beige playbook: delay, deny, disappear with the emotional warmth of a Terms & Conditions update. But Astronomer didn’t play defence. They went rogue. They leaned in. They made the world laugh. And they consciously coupled up to Gwyneth bloody Paltrow, patron saint of awkward internet moments, wellness satire, and Oscar-level unbotheredness. She delivers a dry, deadpan parody. Zero, puffed-up PR fluff.Just a smart, self-deprecating, confident move that says: “ Yes, we saw the headlines. But here’s the truth and here’s who we really are.” It’s not crisis comms. It’s crisis theatre and it works. In an age where most brands treat humour like radioactive waste and behave like malfunctioning androids under pressure, this was different. Playful. Poised. Unafraid. It trusted authenticity over spin. It employed cultural fluency rather than corporate fluff. The scandal will fade. But what about the company digital tattoo? Now, everyone knows their name, and, better still, they like Astronomer for that. A rare moment where the comms team actually earned their money not by muting the noise, but by amplifying the soul of the brand. Give whoever greenlit that stunt a raise. Astronomer, didn’t just manage perception. They believed in who they were and backed it. Great pivots don’t spin away from the scandal, turn into it, bow, and steal the show. That’s the real trick: turning chaos into your brand’s finest moment. #CrisisComms #PRMasterclass #BrandPivot #Schadenfreude #ColdplayCam
You posted a nice, lengthy and very flowery explanation of the situation regarding the ad but the reality is far more likely that Astronomer panicked, had no idea what to do and put its head down and probably reached out to some PR companies to figure out what the best way of handling this. Of course somehow Ryan Reynolds gets involved and cue the Hollywood machine. This isn't really funny because it's all awkward. What in the world does Paltrow have to do with any of this? She has enough issues with her own company and its questionable product offerings. Will anyone really care or remember who or what Astronomer does in about 2-3 months from now? and even if they do it won't be whatever AI services they offer but "oh wasn't that the company that had that affair scandal thing"
Mark Borkowski nicely put and great summary. So many lessons on being brave but thoughtful, getting the timing and tone right - and being able to laugh at yourself in even what appear the darkest moments.
It's a fresh take on reputation management and, I'm sure we'll be seeing this pop up time and again as 'the example' of adaptive crisis comms in the social media era. I can't wait to see how this does in the next tranche of awards. A great spotlight on this Mark, it's great to be giving it the extra eyeballs and the PR team much deserved plaudits of craftsmanship.
Breath of fresh air comms. Please let the (corporate) world regain its sense of humour and risk. We've been playing the 'no, I am significantly more offended then yow,' game for 20 years now and it's squeezed the joy out of work life and the fun out of a generation. For too long if anyone in the room can anticipate any possible reason why a strategy or message might not land drearily and uncontroversially with every single person receiving it - then that's enough reason to can it. You have to have faith that if you find something funny or effective then so will many, many others - and that's enough. If you haven't got confidence in your taste then get out of that room. Great piece as per
I’m sure Mark Borkowski will recall this similarly amusing brand marketing-led activity from 2012 - which was more clever, better written and, I’d like to think, more impactful than Astronomer’s effort. It started when a man called Richard Neill posted a tongue-in-cheek message on Bodyform’s Facebook page highlighting how Bodyform’s advertising suggested that during their periods, women were having an active and wonderful time but he had been surprised to discover that this was untrue. https://youtu.be/Bpy75q2DDow?si=F3zYyb3A2Crde3UV
Gwyneth Paltrow is also the ex-wife of Coldplay’s founder Chris Martin which must be why she was asked to do the ad (& maybe why she agreed)
Absolutely brilliant move
Clever and brave! Would love to have been a fly on the wall as the team kicked this little gem around…
Simply smart. It will not work for anyone, but it worked well in this case.
ITSM Marketing Consultant
6dI wholeheartedly disagree with this post. Throwing goodness knows how much money at GP to make a joke of what has effectively destroyed a family is not clever marketing. Clever marketing is calling out all the thousands of businesses who have turned this into their own marketing memes, campaigns, and social posts. Clever marketing is making it clear that this is nothing to do with business and everything to do with the public humiliation of a wife and children. Clever marketing is actually being human about the whole situation. Not turning it into a bloody PR stunt.