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By now, you’ve probably heard about the July 15th Coldplay kiss-cam commotion. Somehow, in the days and weeks that have followed, the scandal has become the spark for one of the more surprising B2B marketing plays of the summer.
While most brands would’ve scrambled to spin, silence, or sidestep a viral curveball, Astronomer did something else entirely. The brand leaned in, partnering with Gwyneth Paltrow—ex-wife of Coldplay’s Chris Martin—as a “very temporary” spokesperson to answer questions about the brand with humor and clarity.
Our team weighs in on this bold move:
"‘Fastvertising’, well-written, bold messaging with a more standard production, was the exact right move for something that had to come hot on the heels of the incident.”
-Drew Beamer, Creative Director
"This move positions Astronomer as a bold and honest player in a crowded market, which I think will make it stand out to its B2B audience. Being bold is the new baseline and playing it safe just makes you invisible in today's landscape!”
-Lily Yarbrough, Client Services Apprentice
"Since it does not reference the scandal directly but instead relies on IYKYK, it's not particularly disrespectful as called out by some commenters. And heck, finally something from Gwyneth that didn't make me cringe.”
-Karla Jackson, Creative Director
"A HUGE audience invested in the scandal and was waiting to see how Astronomer would respond. Not only did they indirectly address that audience, but they still managed to advertise their software in an incredibly seamless way (to a much larger audience than would typically see their marketing).”
-Olivia Morano, Account Coordinator
"Bold, unexpected, but funny…for a B2B tech company, it feels unconventional. But I think it works. Feels like clever marketing that got people talking and a lot of visibility for the company.”
-Reese Cain, Project Manager
"It's hard not to like this response... It's about as timely as you could expect, and most importantly, they didn't over do it.”
- Spencer Watson, Art Director
"It should be more shocking to not do something like this given the amount of attention the brand received…I love that they didn't let the stunt get in the way of sharing who they actually are and what they do. I am sure it was not easy to work that in and feel unforced. It doesn't hurt to have a world class actress like Gwyneth to pull that off.”
-Samara Anderson, CXO
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