From Viral Kiss Cam to Hollywood Campaign: How Astronomer Used Gwyneth Paltrow and Ryan Reynolds to Turn Disaster into Success. This little-known tech company leveraged a PR crisis, transforming a viral Coldplay incident into a brilliant marketing campaign with Maximum Effort. Learn how Astronomer's clever strategy, featuring A-list stars, generated millions in positive publicity
From Coldplay Kiss Cam to Viral Marketing Success: How Astronomer Used a PR Disaster to Launch its Brand with Gwyneth Paltrow and Ryan Reynolds
A viral Coldplay "kiss cam" incident led to the resignation of Astronomer's executives. However, the tech company cleverly transformed this PR disaster into a marketing triumph, partnering with Ryan Reynolds' Maximum Effort agency and Gwyneth Paltrow for a hilarious ad campaign that generated millions in free publicity
From Viral Scandal to Hollywood Success: How Astronomer Used Gwyneth Paltrow and Ryan Reynolds to Turn Disaster into a Marketing Triumph. Astronomer leveraged the power of Maximum Effort, Ryan Reynolds' viral ad agency, and A-list star Gwyneth Paltrow to transform a PR crisis into a winning marketing campaign. This clever strategy successfully shifted the narrative, generating millions in positive publicity
Ryan Reynolds' Maximum Effort, a viral ad agency launched in 2018, masterfully crafted Astronomer's new campaign. Known for its humorous, attention-grabbing ads for clients like Deadpool, Match.com, Mint Mobile, and the NAACP, Maximum Effort—with Reynolds as Chief Creative Officer—successfully leveraged a PR crisis into a viral marketing triumph
Astronomer's viral Coldplay kiss-cam controversy sparked a brilliant marketing campaign. The tech company partnered with Ryan Reynolds' Maximum Effort agency, resulting in a humorous Gwyneth Paltrow-starring ad that cleverly addressed the incident without direct mention. While the initial contact remains unclear, Maximum Effort confirmed their involvement on LinkedIn, showcasing Astronomer's innovative data solutions. This strategic move transformed a PR disaster into a massive success, generating significant positive media attention and showcasing the power of creative crisis management
Thank you for your interest in Astronomer. pic.twitter.com/WtxEegbAMY
Public relations experts told BI after the Coldplay incident that Astronomer could probably capitalize on what was otherwise a bad situation. The company’s collaboration with Maximum Effort appears to have done just that.
The commercial has been well-received, and some PR professionals told BI the company had fully succeeded in leveraging its accidental fame.
“Creating a video clever enough, yet with just enough controversy, to spread online and capture mainstream media attention is generating millions of dollars of free, positive publicity for Astronomer,” said Kristi Piehl, the founder and CEO of Media Minefield.
She said Paltrow’s script was “on message” and, importantly, focused on what Astronomer does, not what its former executives did.
“The video shifts the narrative, allowing Astronomer to have the last word,” Piehl said.
In the video, Paltrow is presented as a “temporary spokesperson” for the firm. She says the company has “gotten a lot of questions over the last few days” and wanted her to answer the “most common ones.”
But rather than share any new details about the now infamous “kiss cam” moment, Paltrow promoted Astronomer’s products.
“If you want to talk crisis communications, this is a 2025 era playbook on how to do this the right way from a corporate standpoint,” said Sam Amsterdam, the founder and managing partner at Amsterdam Group Public Relations.
“They chose not to make this a crisis. This was a deliberate attempt at being pragmatic, at brand building, at brand defining,” he said.
Ryan McCormick, a cofounder of Goldman McCormick PR, said the public is used to seeing corporate responses to crises that “miss their mark,” but that wasn’t the case this time.
“Astronomer nailed it here, and I think public interest in them will only increase for the foreseeable future,” he said.
Having made it through to the other side of a viral controversy, the company appears ready to move on. In a LinkedIn post on Sunday, Astronomer’s cofounder and new CEO, Pete DeJoy, thanked Maximum Effort for its “remarkable work.”
“As Gwyneth Paltrow said, now it’s time for us to return to what we do best: delivering game-changing results for our customers,” he wrote. “We look forward to what this next chapter holds for Astronomer.”
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