Let’s play 2! Slugger Joe still pitching joe
By JAMES COVERT
Last Updated: 1:07 PM, August 29, 2012
Posted: 11:39 PM, August 28, 2012
Yankee Clipper? How about a Yankees espresso sipper.
Arizona Beverages is limbering up to launch a new, caffeinated cold drink in a can — and is angling to score another hit by slapping Joe DiMaggio’s image on it.
This time, the iced-tea giant based in Woodbury, NY, has created a “lightly carbonated espresso drink” that will be called “Joltin’ Joe” in honor of the baseball legend.
Slated to hit stores next week across the Big Apple, the 15.5-ounce beverage will carry 80 milligrams of caffeine — more than twice the amount in Arizona’s most caffeinated variety of iced tea. At the same time, it will contain less than half the sugar.
“We’ve been seeing the trend in coffee increasing — it’s a natural energy drink,” said Arizona spokeswoman Jackie Harrigan.
In a twist, DiMaggio is pictured wearing a cap that says “USA” instead of a Yankees cap.
“We didn’t even ask” the Yankees for permission to use their logo, said Elizabeth Kanna, who heads up media and marketing for Joe DiMaggio LLC.
Joltin’ Joe will be rolled out nationwide by the middle of September. The venture is kicking off with coffee 13 years after his death, and 70 years after his 56-game hitting streak.
“We felt the Joe DiMaggio brand seamlessly extended into coffee and energy,” said Michelle Alfandari, who handles licensing for the Joe DiMaggio estate.
DiMaggio, the Hall of Famer who played from 1936 to 1951, will be remembered by younger fans as the TV pitchman for Mr. Coffee for roughly 15 years, beginning in 1973.
