SEATTLE -- Reportedly in financial distress, Jones Soda is nevertheless hanging its latest turnaround effort on its WhoopAss energy drink , launched in 2002 as a soft-core alternative to Red Bull. According to the Seattle Times, the company's new CEO, William Meissner, plans to relaunch the product in October with a fresh look and marketing campaign.

"The energy-drink persona is aggressive young males who play hard and party hard," he told the Times.

Despite its name, WhoopAss does not fit that image. Currently it has a vintage-looking can with a cartoon character called "the little guy" from Jones' slogan, "Run with the little guy."

It represents less than 10 percent of Jones' revenue, mostly through online and Northwest sales, according to the report.

Meissner and the roughly 40 people who work at Jones -- now down from more than 150 a few years ago -- are devising a new look that involves the color black and the Iron Cross, a centuries-old symbol now part of the skate, surf and mixed-martial-arts cultures.

Jones is positioning WhoopAss as an energy drink for the mixed-martial-arts scene, and is considering switching its color and flavor, from a bright-yellow lemon-lime to a dark-purple berry flavor.

Meissner hopes the fresh approach will put the drink on convenience store shelves nationwide.

Since arriving in the spring, Meissner also found Jones products he didn't like, mostly those with low or no profits. As a result, he is axing or considering dropping anything that is not carbonated -- meaning Jones' line of natural drinks, organics, 24C and GABA drinks.

After the WhoopAss launch this fall, he plans to work on a natural carbonated-beverage line to roll out next summer.