The $1.8 Million free ad campaign Saratoga water is fumbling

If you haven't seen Ashton Hall's ridiculous morning routine making the rounds on social media, you've probably been living under a rock for the past few weeks 😂

(If you haven’t watched any of Ashton’s videos yet, click here to get some context and then come back to read on)

This fitness influencer has single-handedly turned Saratoga Water into the internet's favourite meme with his absurdly regimented "3:50 AM to 9:30 AM" morning routine.

The cobalt-blue bottles make an appearance in almost every shot – from his 4am mouth rinse to his ice plunge and then his banana peel skincare.

His videos have racked up over 1 BILLION views across platforms. Billion. With a B.

And Saratoga Water's response?

Cricket noises

Well, almost.

Let's put this in perspective:

• Google searches for Saratoga Water jumped 1,300% almost overnight

• The brand generated an estimated $1.8 million in earned media value WITHOUT SPENDING A PENNY

• Their parent company's stock temporarily jumped 16%

• Ashton's audience has grown to 10M followers with videos consistently hitting 50-100M views

This is the kind of brand exposure marketers would literally give anything for.

It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become THE bottled water brand globally.

So how is Saratoga capitalising on this?

They're... not.

At least not in any meaningful way (in my opinion).

Twitter users in the paid media space discovered the brand is running only 27 ads right now.

TWENTY-SEVEN.

For a company of their size, during the biggest moment in their brand history, that's like bringing a water pistol to put out a forest fire.

They should be running hundreds of ads playing into the trend from every possible angle.

Now after days of silence, they finally put out four Instagram posts subtly nodding to the meme.

But they're so "safe" and "on-brand" that they feel like they were approved by 17 different executives who've never seen TikTok.

To show just how much potential they're missing: their usual posts get 300-400 likes.

Their recent ones? 20K+.

If they created Instagram Reels (maybe their own morning routine parody) those numbers could be in the millions.

People are literally begging them in the comments to properly jump on the trend.

When your audience is screaming "TAKE MY MONEY" and you're still proceeding with caution, something's wrong.

The likely culprit: corporate red tape

I don't blame their marketing team.

I've been there.

They're probably stuck in approval hell, with every social post requiring sign-off from legal, brand, executive, and whoever else happens to be in the office that day.

By the time they get permission to post something remotely interesting, three new memes have already taken over the internet.

This is exactly why thinking like a creator is so crucial for brands today:

• Speed matters: Viral trends move at lightning pace. If you're not ready to jump on them within hours, not days, you're already late.

• Authenticity wins: People can smell corporate caution from a mile away. Saratoga's carefully sanitised responses feel disconnected from the wild, unhinged energy of the trend itself.

• Risk aversion kills opportunities: The potential upside of fully embracing this moment far outweighs any downside of a post that doesn't land perfectly.

Sure, Saratoga has made money from this trend – the free marketing has undoubtedly boosted their sales.

But they're settling for crumbs when they could be feasting.

This temporary bump in revenue will fade as the internet moves on.

If they played it right, they could turn this moment into lasting brand recognition and loyalty.

This case study is a lesson to every business that finds itself unprepared when opportunity knocks.

The creator mindset means being quick, agile, and reactive - none of which have been embodied by this brand.

And that's the critical difference between businesses that merely exist and those that thrive in the attention economy.

There is, of course, another possibility I have to acknowledge.

Maybe, just maybe, Saratoga's apparent fumbling is actually deliberate restraint.

Perhaps they're in the background orchestrating something much bigger than a few social posts.

Are they finalising a massive partnership deal with Ashton?

Planning a huge commercial run that recreates the routine with celebrities?

Launching a limited edition "3:50 AM" bottle collection?

I'd love to be proven wrong here.

I'd be genuinely impressed if their silence is just the calm before a perfectly timed storm of marketing genius.

But as the days pass and the trend's momentum begins to naturally wane, this scenario becomes less and less likely.

Waiting too long to make your move means you might as well not make it at all.

I guess we'll see in the coming days if Saratoga has been planning a masterstroke or if they truly missed their moment to make history.

Remember, the creator mindset is all you need to grow 🌱

P.S. Speaking of capitalising on opportunities - the response to my "Your Most Valuable Asset" workshop has been awesome! We're already seeing the waitlist fill up faster than expected. If you haven't added your name yet and want to learn how to build an audience that becomes your most valuable business asset, use the poll below to confirm your interest. I'll be sending details to everyone on the list next week.

Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here to get the next one straight to your inbox.

If this email landed in your spam or promotions folder, move it to your primary inbox so you never miss an update from me.