On July 15th, 2025, Astronomer, the data workflow company found itself at the center of an internet wildfire. A video surfaced showing its CEO in what we’ll call extremely casual proximity to his Chief People Officer at a Coldplay concert. By week’s end, both had resigned, the video had racked up millions of views, and Astronomer had gone from back-end infrastructure to front-page gossip.
About a week later, and in a move many have called genius for leaning into the scandal rather than covering it up, Astronomer dropped a video featuring actress, businesswoman, and (perhaps most relevant of all) Coldplay frontman Chris Martin’s ex-wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, as a “very temporary spokesperson.”
In the video, Gwyneth answers “the most common questions” about the company.
To determine whether this “ad” was genius or kinda dumb, let’s use the S.T.U.N.T. framework:
- Spotlight – Did it successfully capture attention?
- Translation – Did that attention become interest in the actual product or service?
- Understanding – Did it clarify what the company actually does?
- Narrative Control – Did the company frame the story on their terms?
- Tactic – Is there likely to be a measurable impact on the commercial bottom line?
Spotlight
One of my favourite quotes (and there are many strong contenders) is: “if you’re going to hijack attention, earn the right to keep it.” I can’t remember for the life of me who’s behind that quote, but Astronomer pulled the pivot from gossip headline to product pitch much smoother than expected. “We’re thrilled so many people have an interest in workflow automation,” Gwyneth says with a knowing smile. Nobody had that interest, but now? Maybe you’re curious enough to Google it. Maybe you want to know why it sounds like it could be a Space X rival? Or check out which big-name companies use them. Maybe you’ll even RSVP to attend their Beyond Analytics conference just to see what in the world happens at an Astronomer event.
✅ Verdict: Strong win
Translation
This one’s murky because we need a ton more data. And when things are murky we default to speculation. The big question is can this sort of brand moment convert into meaningful commercial traction?
There are two ways to think about it:
- One: This is backend B2B infrastructure. It’s not typically the type of solution that trends into sales because of a celebrity cameo.
- Two: Awareness ≠ interest, especially when the average social media viewer is not likely to be the person signing off on enterprise software budgets.
Do more people now know about Astronomer? Yes.
Will anyone buy Astronomer because of this? Probably not.
???? Verdict: Mixed at best
Understanding
Did Gwyneth (on behalf of Astronomer) succeed in explaining what they actually do? The answer is a big fat no.
No non-technical viewer walked away with a new found understanding about the product. “Workflow automation.” “Data orchestration.” “Apache Airflow.” Smart sounding words that mean nothing if you’re not part of Tech Twitter or in the Discord #DataNerd group. The video missed a huge opportunity to de-jargon the product for the millions of accidental viewers paying attention.
❌ Verdict: Total miss
Narrative Control
Did they succeed in shaping the story on their terms? Mostly yes.
Gwyneth opens by saying she’s been hired temporarily on behalf of 300 employees. That does a good job of reframing the moment from just a scandal to highlighting that this company is home to real people with real jobs who earn a real living from this company. It humanises the company.
But… was it too soon? The world moves on fast and timeliness in a PR scandal is golden, but I can’t help but wonder if narrative control came at the cost of brand trust. It’s one thing for a direct to customer cosmetics line to pull this (i’ll be lining up to get those eyeliners); it’s a whole other for a company powering Apache Airflow behind enterprise data pipelines.
???? Verdict: Well played, but on thin ice
Tactic
Tactic begs the question, will this stunt lead to measurable commercial impact?
My take is that it’s unlikely (m)any customers would churn because of this. But could it go the other way and could the name recognition and curiosity around the business help generate more pipeline? Sure. Could it lead to more booked demos, if only because someone on the buying committee wants to have a great story to share at the next dinner party? I think stranger things have happened.
And maybe, just maybe, once they’re in the funnel, the product is strong enough to win.
✅ Verdict: Possible upside
Final Thoughts
You have to admire that they’ve managed to pull a Donald Trump, earning millions in media exposure and stretching the conversation across an extra news cycle. No small feat for a company built on backend data infrastructure.
I continue to question if they needed it. If Astronomer were a consumer-facing brand, this would have been a runaway masterstroke. But they’re not. They’re the kind of company you rely on without ever realizing it.
Still, in a world where B2B is often accused of being ‘boring to boring?’ A win is a win.