You’re likely all too-familiar with the “hard launch” — the moment when your group chat lights up with screenshots of an Instagram post from a couple you didn’t even know were dating. But once the five minutes of gawking and “Wait, when did this happen?” pass, it becomes old news.
Annnnnd so the news cycle moves on.
But a soft launch? An entirely different game. This slow burn strategy, designed to keep us hooked, has taken over. Although the term seems like a relatively new social media tactic to us mere mortals, the soft launch has been Hollywood’s best kept PR secret for decades.
What Is a Soft Launch?
Soft launching is a term borrowed from the business world, where it means releasing a product or service to a small audience before it goes live to the general public. In terms of a relationship, it involves teasing that you’re in a relationship without giving out any details — ie. who exactly it is you’re shacking up with. Picture posting a strategically-cropped photo of a hand at a restaurant, or the back of *someone’s* head on a bush walk.
When it comes to celebs, however, soft launching can look a little different — think A-listers leaving the same party in the same car (when they didn’t arrive together), rather than posting a sly pic (though, we wouldn’t put that past them).
For Hollywood’s elite, soft-launching a relationship can be a strategic PR move. In the same way your high school friend’s new relo lights up your GC with speculation as to who their new beau is, celebs keeping us partially in the dark makes us wonder more about it.
Humans are wired to crave more of what we can’t fully see. Psychology tells us that when we’re only given breadcrumbs, our brains instinctively need to fill in the blanks. It’s a tease that keeps us coming back for more, as we are curious but not certain as to what *exactly* is going on.
Too much exposure leads to public disinterest, but celebrities keeping their relationships just out of reach? That fuels a hungry obsession.
Want even more celeb tea?
Get all the goss delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, I agree to KK Press’s Terms & Conditions; my information will be used as described in its Privacy Policy.
Celeb Soft Launches: The Case Studies
Enter the professionals: Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet, King and Queen of, “So are they? Aren’t they?”
This couple led a masterclass in subtlety after the actor’s car was papped at Kylie’s house. They incided months of speculation as to whether or not they were a couple, before kind-of confirming it with a series of low-key public appearances. Even now, while Kylie will attend events with Timothée, she is yet to be snapped on a red carpet with him. Accordingly, snaps of them together inside the Oscars and Golden Globes have been widely shared on social media and sent fans into a frenzy more than curated snaps likely ever would.
Let’s not forget Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper, who are very much giving “Are we dating? You tell me?”
When relationship rumours first surfaced in October 2023, many people rolled their eyes, dismissing this as a tabloid rumour. Then, the soft launch began (and so did our growing intrigue). The duo were victim to the blurry paparazzi shot of them grocery shopping in New York, followed by conveniently-timed vacays beachside in Sardinia.
Alone, these occurrences seemed innocent but together, the public couldn’t get enough of dissecting it. By 2024, they weren’t just a rumoured fling and rather a fascination. Never an official debut, but just enough. Even now, still almost too-easily-deniable, as neither the supermodel nor actor has confirmed the romance officially.
More celebs who drip-fed their relationships to the public (before eventually letting up and letting us in) include Renée Rapp and Towa Bird, Zendaya and Tom Holland, Tate McRae & The Kid Laroi, Olivia Rodrigo and Louis Partridge, and Chrishell Stause and G Flip (plus, we’re still waiting on Paul Mescal and Gracie Abrams).
From Over-Exposure to Under-Exposure
When it comes to celebrities, it’s safe to say that the days of red carpet debuts are slowly fading, as the new way to captivate fans is by not showing much at all.
Interestingly, soft launches arguably fuel parasocial relationships between fans and celebrities. In the past, we could only dream of being close to our favourite stars, but thanks to social media, it can seem like a much smaller gap between “us” and “them.” While on one hand, this false illusion of intimacy can make fans feel entitled to information about a celebrity’s relationship status, it also makes them appear more normal — which, depending how they look at it, can be a good or a bad thing. In a world where oversaturation is the norm, celebrities know that maintaining an air of mystique and exclusivity is valuable. If you can’t do that through personal branding, what better way than. via a drawn-out soft-launch?
This quiet approach isn’t just about mystery, it’s a powerful PR move that might be the best-kept-secret to maintaining a long-lasting and intriguing relationship — with both your significant other *and* the public.
