What Astronomer just did could make it into every book about marketing and strategic communication in the coming years. The company, which has been in the middle of a media storm after their former CEO Andy Byron was caught having an affair with their HR chief Kristin Cabot during a Coldplay concert, has just played the ultimate move. Astronomer hired actor Gwyneth Paltrow to answer all the questions about the kiss-cam scandal, taking on the role of a ‘temporary spokesperson’. Gwyneth happens to be Coldplay front-man Chris Martin’s ex-wife.
The video released has been titled, ‘Thank you for your interest in Astronomer.’ Paltrow starts the video by saying, “I have been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer. We have gotten a lot of questions in the last few days, and they wanted to answer the most common ones.” As the first question, “OMG! What the actual f***,” starts appearing on the screen, Paltrow cuts it off and just starts talking about the services provided by the company.
Paltrow also thanked the public for showing an interest in the company, before going off on a tangent. She ended the video by saying, “We will now be returning to what we do best, delivering game-changing results for our customers.” Fans reacted to this tactic, with one user commenting on the video, “Some of the best crisis management I’ve ever seen. Standing ovation for PR and Marketing,” while another reposted the video on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “This belongs in the crisis management hall of fame.”
The whole thing started during Coldplay’s Boston concert, when, during the kiss-cam segment, the camera panned to Andy and Kristin. When they tried to hide their faces, Martin made a joke, “Look at these two. Either they are having an affair or they are just very shy.” By the time the singer realised what was happening, it was too late, and the secret was out. Both Andy and Kristin have resigned from the company since the scandal broke out.
Martin and Paltrow got married in 2003 and separated in 2014. They have two children, daughter Apple and son Moses.
