Either she's a great actress or she truly believes this:

A: There is a large portion of the population that relies on the carbohydrates and energy in our regular beverages. When my son gets home from school, he needs a pick-up with calories and great taste.

Q: But critics call soft drinks "empty" calories.

A: A calorie is a calorie. What our drinks offer is hydration. That's essential to the human body. We offer great taste and benefits whether it's an uplift or carbohydrates or energy. We don't believe in empty calories. We believe in hydration.

When a Coca Cola exec says, "We believe in hydration", I'm amazed by her ability to stay on message.

That's branding.

I'm surprised she didn't extol the electrolytes and antioxidants in their beverages, too.

And yet they don't even add vitamins & minerals to the drinks!

I always thought that soft drinks had a net-dehydrating effect, but according to the European Hydration Institude they're not so bad in that respect:

It is true that caffeine is a diuretic, stimulating urine output. However, in the amounts present in most commonly-consumed drinks, this effect is small and trivial, and the water in the drinks will more than compensate for any effect of the caffeine... [C]affeine-containing beverages such as coffee, tea and soft drinks contribute to total daily water intake to a similar extent as beverages without caffeine.

Just because a large proportion "relies on the carbs and energy in "our" beverages..." does not make it right ! in fact you could read that to mean they are addicted!