ABSTRACT

The Catholic Archdiocese of New York named Castle Springs water the official bottled water of the pope's visit. The designation of this water as official was somewhat limited in scope. Still, just to be the pope's drink in Jersey, Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island for two days was quite a coup for Castle Springs. Until then, this three-year-old, flyspeck company in the sprawling Kohlbert Kravis Roberts conglomerate had never sponsored anything grander than a car on the Nascar racing circuit. Yet the company was, in obvious partnership with the Vatican, selling its little-known New Hampshire spring water for a pricey $2 a bottle with the gold and white papal insignia right there on the side. The recently concluded New York Marathon had an official bottled water and an official pasta which was supposed to be officially served beneath the marathon's official spaghetti sauce.